


Life Has Changed

by Nanocowie



Category: Persona 5
Genre: BigOOC, F/M, FemTheWorld
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:47:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25383316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanocowie/pseuds/Nanocowie
Summary: Joker never expected to get to do it all over again, he never asked to do it all over again. So when he awoke on the train leading into Tokyo on the day he met Sojiro, he was, to put it lightly, a bit shocked. With all the skills he's learned over the course of his last year, surely this time would be a breeze, right? Nothing would surprise him...Right?New Game Plus but with more degeneracy I hope your happy alevel3mage you dumpster fire
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I was talking with alevel3mage and during the course of our revelry decided to riff back and forwards on the idea of a new game plus where most are female. I was encouraged/coerced into writing this.
> 
> I apologise.

Ren gasped as he awoke, the quiet humming of the train beneath him coming back to him. Outside he could see the outskirts of Tokyo approaching quickly and looked around him to see the inside of a bullet train, a few commuters engrossed in their own pastimes. Pulling out his phone, he saw the date, April 9th… 20XX!? What the hell, this was the day he moved in with Sojiro in Leblanc. He racked his brain, was it a dream? A cognition? Or… No, he knew what was going on. He’d been told so just minutes prior… In the Velvet room.

_“Welcome to my Velvet Room Trickster, why, it has been quite a journey for you, hasn’t it? Now that the game is up, albeit spoilt, I find myself wondering what to do with you.”_

_Ren looked at Igor curiously as Lavenza smiled at him warmly, her mysterious eyes unreadable. “You see Trickster, you have undergone rehabilitation, but not exactly one that was carefully planned. My Master is debating on whether to re-enrol you in your rehabilitation or not.”_

_His eyes widened, his disguise fading into his Shujin Uniform as he asked. “W-What do you mean, rehabilitation? You mean what would have happened if Yaldabaoth hadn’t…?”_

_Igor nodded, his massive nose swishing through the air. “Why, exactly Trickster! This will be quite the breeze for you, my dear Lavenza was ever so diligent your first time around even split apart. I believe that this will be for the best, a cleanse of the palette before you are returned to your life. Why, even if the game has ended, must the fun end too?”_

_Ren was disconcerted by the connotations before Lavenza giggled, placating him as the world began to brighten blindingly. “Ask the delivery driver for the Samt residence when you arrive in Yongen-Jaya.”_

His eyes shot around, not quite believing what was happening. While he was relatively certain that Igor could do something like this… He didn’t know the purpose, he felt as if he should be more disturbed by this. The train coasted into Yongen-Jaya, and Ren walked out into the familiar station with his bag over his shoulder. Walking over to where he’d usually go to go home, he saw Leblanc, the delicious smells wafting out of it as familiar as ever. But Lavenza asked him to find the Samt residence… The delivery driver she said? He vaguely remembered going to Sojiro’s house before going to Leblanc anyways.

Going over to Sojiro’s house, he found the man scratching the back of his head as he looked down at a large package. “Excuse me, sir. Could you point me to the Samt household?”

The driver blinked before perking up, pointing over across the street to a house that Ren had been sure didn’t exist before. “Right over there. You visiting family or something?”

Ren laughed nervously and nodded. “S-Something like that.”

Bidding farewell, Ren crossed the quiet street and arrived at the house. It was… Plain, almost like Ryuji’s house. Knocking on the door, there was a small call from inside. “Come in!”

Opening the door, Ren stepped inside and marvelled at the aristocratic furnishings. He felt slightly out of his depth, and after a certain girl walked out from what appeared to be the kitchen, he was very much dumbstruck. “Welcome home Big Brother, I trust you had a pleasant trip?”

Words failed him. He stood there gaping for a long minute before Lavenza giggled and replied. “You may catch a fly Trickster. Come, I was just preparing some coffee for you. I do not know how you can enjoy such a drink, but I made my best efforts.”

He couldn’t do much but follow behind her, only taking a second to close the door. Following her into the kitchen he gaped still at the lavish decoration before he found a cup of coffee being pushed into his hands. “Come, Trickster, I’m certain you have many questions. Let us sit.”

He found himself sitting across from a smug attendant, a coffee table between them as they sat on sofas in a more contemporary living room. “S-So um… What, why, when, if you don’t mind?”

Lavenza nodded and replied, sipping her cup of tea. “Well, in order. Another try at your continuity that was born from my Masters' perfectionism. He doesn’t enjoy a half job, and if you graduate again, you will be free. Why well… A situation occurred in the old timeline, one that nothing could have prepared you for. Master chose to let it continue its natural course until it ran out. When… Well, it’s April 9th, two days until you first enter the Metaverse.”

The questions swirling around in his mind boiled down to ‘What happened to them?’, and judging from Lavenza’s placating smile, she knew too. “They enjoyed their days with you, happy and content with you... You simply cannot remember them. On behalf of my Master and I, I apologize if you have objections to this but it was the best we could do when the Gentle God came. He is powerful, but that only extends until another comes with the same level of strength, as Yaldabaoth proved.”

Even more questions, but he didn’t feel like addressing them at the moment. Something more pressing had just been remembered. “A-And… The Big Brother thing?”

Lavenza nodded, unfazed. “Well, that will be the role I assume during your rehabilitation in this new continuity. I trust there will be no problems? I considered taking on a motherly role, though I am told that this form would be unsuited.”

Ren sighed, taking a sip of the amateurish coffee. “And… Well, what do I have? What else has changed, if I assume right, I’m not staying at Leblanc?”

She giggled and explained as the door opened behind him. “Well… A certain someone was very excited to be living with you.”

Suddenly a familiar, commanding voice said indignantly. “I-I wasn’t!”

Ren turned around slowly to see Caroline and Justine but… Not as he remembered them. They were older, about as old as Sae. “W-Wait, what!?”

Justine gave him a nod as she explained clinically. “We will be taking not the role of your Wardens, but as your Guardians. It is understood that we were old friends of your parents, much in the way Sojiro Sakura is. I must say Inma-… Ren, that it is a pleasure to see you again.”

Caroline struck a pose with a confident smirk, missing her trademark baton. “You’d better be grateful the Master thought we were a good influence and made us again! Now go check out your room, all your old stuff is in there. There are more surprises in store, so get some rest, alright!?”

He nodded, still slightly terrified of the chainsaw-wielding sadist. Walking out, he was flanked by both Justine and Caroline as they led him up the stairs and into what appeared to be his bedroom. Surprisingly, it missed the rest of the lavish furnishings in exchange for much the same layout as his attic in Leblanc. There was even a faint smell of coffee and curry wafting through the room.

Justine watched him with a mysterious smile as she said. “Exactly modelled from your old room. It was your sanctum, your domain, and so we kept it the same.”

Caroline ran over and jumped onto his bed with a yelp of excitement. “We did pretty good, didn’t we Inmate!? You can go ahead and thank us now!”

Ren was shocked into silence before bemusedly asking. “Inmate?”

Caroline stopped bouncing on the bed to look at him thoughtfully before standing up and walking over to him. She put her hand on his head and fluffed his hair around before musing. “Yeah, I need to give you a new name. How about Ex-Inmate?”

He glared at her lightly, not wanting to admit how comforting her hand was. Justine came up behind him and swatted her hand away from his head. “You could simply call him Ren. He is our equal now Caroline, you must respect him.”

Caroline pouted as Justine replaced her hand with her own, much to Ren’s muted delight. “That doesn’t feel right though! Hmm, how about Trickster?”

Her contemporary shook her head as she continued to ruffle Ren’s hair. “Perhaps not… Joker? His friends called him that, and I consider him to be a friend.”

Caroline blinked before letting the name roll off her tongue. “Joker… I like it! You just call us Big Sis though, got it!?”

Ren nodded as Justine let go of him. “Alright, you had better fall asleep. You’ll be going to Shujin in the morning to get your student ID with Caroline.”

Accepting her commands, Ren walked over and pulled himself under the covers, Caroline and Justine watching from the door. “Sweet dreams… Joker.”

And so Ren fell asleep, the quiet hum of something otherworldly in his ear lulling him to sleep. Downstairs, Justine and Caroline took their seats opposite Lavenza. They were quiet for a long time, not quite sure of who was going to speak first. Eventually, Lavenza sighed and said knowingly. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”

Caroline shook her head dutifully. “No, he’s still reeling from all of this. We don’t need to tell him, do we?”

Lavenza nodded, sipping her tea once more. “Correct, ideally he will never know, the Trickster will reject all authority. All we can do is distance him from the Gentle God in this timeline, I do hope master’s changes will occupy him. I must admit, I find myself looking forward to his encounters with the changes.”

Justine giggled and mused. “I wonder what he will do. The Trickster is many things, but predictable isn’t one of them.”

Eventually, they retired to bed, their single duty swirling around in their heads. Keep the Trickster happy.

_4/10_

Ren stayed silent in the backseat of the car that Caroline was driving, the loud rock music she was playing sending vibrations through his ribcage. They were just coasting into Aoyama Itchome, ready to be reintroduced to his teacher and the principal. “Ready Joker!? You’d better not give up your cover.”

He smiled back at her shakily, unnerved by how… Enthused she was about driving. “Of course. I’m here because of my ‘assault’ on Shido, you’re a family friend that took me in. You’re living rich thanks to your father’s money, who works overseas.”

Caroline grinned at him encouragingly as they parked, the music cutting off as they stepped outside. She locked the door and they made their way back into the familiar gates of Shujin Academy. Caroline turned up her nose at the drabness of the place and remarked. “Damn, this place is pretty disgusting.”

He laughed bemusedly; the imposing concrete wasn’t the easiest to get used to. They made their way up to the principal's office and waiting outside was Kawakami, looking as tired as ever. She looked up at them dryly before nodding. “He’s waiting inside for you.”

Ren wanted to quip about the lack of her usual honorifics but caught himself when he remembered that she didn’t know him yet. He felt sick to his stomach as the gravity of the heartache hit him, she was near the top of his priorities. Caroline patted him on the back as they walked inside, meeting the eternally overweight Principal Kobayakawa. “Ah! Our new transfer student. And you must be Ms. Samt? A pleasure to meet you.”

Caroline grimaced imperceptibly as she replied flatly. “Charmed.”

Kobayakawa seemed a bit put out at her lack of enthusiasm as he turned back to Ren. “Now then young man, as I’m sure you’re aware, you will be on probation for the time you are at Shujin. Even a toe out of line and you will find yourself rotting in Juvenile Hall, understand?”

Ren nodded though the man’s words which had once terrified him slipped off his back like water off a duck’s. Ever since he’d learned that he was on Shido’s payroll, he’d held no respect for the Prinipal. The tirade continued for a few minutes more, with Caroline and Kawakami growing more and more displeased by the minute. Eventually, the teacher huffed and interjected impatiently. “Sir, perhaps it would be prudent for me to take him to his classroom? I’m certain he’s got the message, and if not, I’ll give him a refresher.”

Kobayakawa gaped for a moment before composing himself, tightening his tie around his neck. “A-Ah, quite right Kawakami. Alright, go with her. Do you have any questions Ms. Sa-“

Caroline shot out of her seat and didn’t even deign to respond, walking outside. Ren followed her, as did Kawakami. Once they were out of the room and the door was locked, Caroline looked over to Kawakami and groaned gratefully. “Thanks for that, that guy can’t see his dick for his stomach, can he?”

She snorted, pulling out a student ID and handing it to Ren. “Yeah, a couple of guys like that here. Come on, let’s get this over with, I need to get going.”

They walked down to 2-D and Kawakami made a small hand gesture like she’d just done a magic trick. “Tada, your classroom. Don’t give me any trouble and I won’t turn you in, got it?”

Ren nodded and replied softly. “Of course.”

Kawakami looked a bit taken aback for a moment before Caroline interjected. “Hey, Kawakami was it? Mind if I talk with you for a moment? Ren, you head down to the car, I’ll be there in a sec.”

He was surprised but obeyed nonetheless, leaving only the two women in the corridor. Caroline sighed and said shortly. “He’s a good kid, really.”

Kawakami nodded and replied wistfully. “Yeah, I know what a delinquent looks like and it’s not him. You can never really tell with some though.”

Caroline nodded with a smile, her memories of going through the special assignments with her Inmate running through her head. As fake as she was on a creation level, those memories of Justine’s first laugh, the first time she’d gone to the aquarium… They were real, and he was there for all of them. “Well, I can vouch for him. I’ll see you around, you seem cool.”

Kawakami smirked and replied, turning to walk away. “We should grab a beer sometime. See you around Samt.”

Eventually Caroline got down to the car where Ren was waiting patiently, looking up into the overcast sky forlornly. Caroline frowned, he needed to be happy or else he’d search for an ear to listen… An ear none of them could afford him to confide in. “What’s got you down Joker? Hungry? I kinda want to see you take the Big Bang Challenge again.”

He turned to her with a small smile at the joke and replied. “It’s just… Today’s the day Akechi caused the train derailment. People are going to die today, and he’s still under Shido’s thumb.”

Caroline hummed. They’d expected him to be uncomfortable with not preventing disaster, but they knew he was smart enough to not directly intervene. “You’re such a bleeding heart Joker, the time’ll come. Anyways you’re supposed to have more fun this time, right? Whaddaya want to do? Kichijoji? Planetarium?”

He stayed silent for a moment before replying quietly. “I… I want to head back to Leblanc for a while, some good coffee might pick my spirits up.”

Caroline smiled privately as they got into the car and began to speed off. His happiness was paramount, and that was a safe way to go about it. He was near the base of operations, where they could survey him and the company he kept. “Leblanc it is! I’ll give you some time alone, you need to get your mind straight. Don’t go getting the timeline changed too much remember, you’ll regret it.”

Ren nodded dutifully as they made the admittedly slow journey back to Yongen-Jaya. They coasted into the driveway of their house and Caroline stepped out, breathing a sigh of contentment as she ran her hand over the bonnet. “I love these things… You’ve got your cash, right? Come right back here when you’re ready, alright? Justine’s making Katsu, and she’s pretty damn good at it.”

He gave her a smile before taking off towards Leblanc. It was quiet, most people would be back home and relaxing at that point. Walking over to the café, he saw that it was open and stepped inside and a wave of nostalgia overcame him as he saw Sojiro sat reading a newspaper. He turned to look up at him and nodded. “Hey there. Don’t see many high schoolers coming in a place like this.”

Ren smirked and nodded, replying. “Well, coffee always helps me think. And it does wonders for my image, the girls love a guy who knows his coffee after all.”

Sojiro chuckled and stood up, shooting back. “Looks like you know the drill, though I’d say making the coffee gives you the edge. What can I get you?”

He wanted to laugh, everything he knew he’d learned from this man. “80% Guatamalan SHB, 20% Hawaiian Kona if you have them.”

Sojiro blinked in surprise at the rich taste his new customer seemed to have. “That’ll set you back 700 Yen, you sure?”

Ren tossed a thousand onto the counter, taking a seat. He looked over the scenery with a smile. “Worth every one if the rumours are correct.”

The barista chuckled and began to weigh out the beans from the jars in the back. “So what brings you here specifically? New to the area?”

Ren replied, his eyes drawn to the TV where the news was reporting on the train derailment. “Something like that, yeah. Just wanted to get out and clear my head for a bit, it’s been a pretty terrible day.”

Sojiro shrugged and replied. “Life’s like a woman, except the ups and downs aren’t as fun.”

Ren scoffed at the innuendo and waited as Sojiro pulled the coffee and set the cup down in front of him. Taking a sip, he let the liquid fall over his tongue before smacking his lips. “Delicious. Should’ve asked for less Kona, it gets lost.”

Sojiro nodded, wiping down the carafe in the sink. “Sometimes it’s about how much you spend, but you must be pretty good not to just stay quiet, I respect that. I think we’ll get along just fine kid. The name’s Sojiro Sakura, but everybody calls me Boss.”

Ren raised his cup as if in salute as he replied. “Ren Amamiya, pleasure to meet you Boss.”

Sojiro smirked before replying curiously. “Y’know, you remind me of one of my regulars-“

The bell tinkled again, and in walked a girl in a hoodie with a silver briefcase. Sojiro caught himself before laughing lightly. “Speak of the devil, and she will appear eh? What can I get you Akechi?”

Ren sat in shock as the girl pulled the hood off her face, shaking the water out of her hair and throwing her medium length fair locks behind her back. It was… Akechi, but not as he knew him… Not even him at this point. She looked over at Sojiro with a bemused smile and asked rhetorically. “Who’re you calling a devil, and what lies are you telling this one? House blend please, large. It’s been a pretty terrible day.”

Sojiro blinked before laughing properly, measuring out her beans. Akechi, or rather, Akechi as Sojiro had called her took a seat next to Ren. “Well that makes two of you. Nothing in particular about our resident Detective Princess.”

Akechi giggled lightly before turning to Ren, who was watching her with a gaping expression. He’s been told there’d been changes but… What in the name of Yaldabaoth’s ballsack was this supposed to be!? “Why, I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before? May I have a name?”

Ren composed himself, taking another sip of suddenly very interesting coffee as he mustered his thoughts. “I’m… New. Isn’t it customary for someone to offer their own name before asking another’s?”

She hummed, setting her palm on her chin as she leaned against the counter. “Why, I’m certain you’ve at least heard of me before considering your previous expression, so why bother? Especially with Boss calling me the Detective Princess.”

Ren suddenly realised that, yes, it was his Akechi underneath there. Nothing about her beautiful brown eyes, soft facial structure or exceptionally soft-looking lips would tell him otherwise. Raising his eyebrow, he replied, the year he’d spent accidentally sweet-talking girls coming back in a flash. “And your looks wouldn’t elicit that response on their own? Afraid not.”

She lost the wind in her sails, stammering as she tried to hide her blush with her hands quickly. Sojiro watched in awe as the usually unflappable Akechi was backfooted by this unknown factor. As little as he cared to admit it, he was weirdly interested in the girls love life. Maybe it was because his own daughter was on the path to never giving him any grandkids… “A-A-Ah, u-um, w-what are y-you… O-Oh my God I must sound pretentious right now, s-sorry. Tori Akechi, I-I’m on TV a lot s-so I thought you’d have-“

Ren burst into laughter, the conversation going just how he wanted it to. He needed to stay on the front, you couldn’t fall behind with Goro, and he assumed the same for her. “Seen you on TV? Of course I have, but that response was worth feigning ignorance.”

Suddenly she appeared to short circuit before sighing, rebooting as her head hitting the table while the taste of defeat set in. “Boss… Coffee please.”

Sojiro laughed and set down the cup in front of her. “Finally met your match?”

She glared up at him in pouting indignation before turning back to Ren, falling back into her usual interested smile. “Well, you’re certainly an interesting fellow. Say, what brings you here to Leblanc aside from the excellent coffee? I assume it’s not the _loyalty of the owner_.”

Sojiro raised his hands in mock surrender as Ren replied, swirling the last vestiges of his coffee in his cup. “I’m new to the area, just moved in. Had a run-in with a guy trying to strongarm a girl into his car, intervened, found myself in court for assault and now I’m on probation. Don’t suppose a police officer like yourself would want to talk to me.”

Akechi blinked before her eyes narrowed. “I’m no officer, got it?”

Ren didn’t lose his stride; he knew the old Akechi’s view on the police and that was ‘disposable enforcement’. “I don’t know, will you still get adorably cute if I do get it?”

She gaped again for a second before groaning in frustration and taking a long drag from her coffee. “You’re unbelievable! We just met and you’re making a pass on me? Surely a guy like you has girls begging to even cling to you.”

Ren smiled privately. She was refreshingly forward, so different from the last Akechi. Maybe… Maybe he’d have more luck convincing her to drop the assassination. “Can you blame a guy? It’s not often that a chance to talk to a girl as accomplished as yourself falls into his lap like this. Speaking of pushing luck… Hmm…”

She looked up at him curiously. “What? What’re you thinking of?”

Ren smiled coyly and replied as they locked eyes. Thank god for Sojiro’s tutelage. “Oh, nothing important.”

She pouted before asking again. “Come on, you’ve got to tell me now. Don’t leave a girl hanging, we hate that.”

He had her on the ropes. “Well, I was just wondering when a certain Detective Princess would be here again. Or perhaps if a certain Detective Princess wanted to talk again without the whole chat up thing?”

She looked at him confusedly for a moment before grinning, calming down from her earlier embarrassment. “A certain Detective Princess comes here every Sunday or when she gets time off, and she also wants to prove that today was a fluke. So, a certain Detective Princess wants to ask a certain Casanova if he will be here next Sunday at 4PM?”

Ren looked at her outstretched, gloved hand and smiled brightly, taking it into a shake. “A certain Casanova would be delighted. And would a certain Barista mind?”

Sojiro had been watching him in awe for a moment before chuckling. “No, he wouldn’t. You two are the most interesting customers I’ve had in a while; you’re welcome back anytime. Now it’s getting late, and a certain Detective Princess and Casanova should leave before I close up shop or else a certain asswhooping’s coming your way.”

They laughed and nodded, finishing off their drinks and walking over to the door. Ren opened it for her and allowed her to step through first, much to her delight. “Why, thank you. It seems chivalry isn’t dead, even amongst criminals.”

Ren smirked as he replied. “A gentleman crook cares for nought but his look.”

She laughed and turned to go towards Yongen-Jaya station, walking away before stopping and turning back with a blush. “D-Don’t forget! Next week, 4PM, okay! I-I know how to find you if you stand me up okay!?”

Ren laughed and turned himself, replying as he waved over his shoulder. “And how will you do that without a name?”

Akechi stood there gaping as she realised that while she’d been coaxed into giving her own name, she’d never gotten his in return. Suddenly she snapped out of it, but Ren was long gone. She stood there for a long moment before realising the massive smile on her face that she just couldn’t seem to rid herself of. While she’d gone to Leblanc to ignore the guilt in her stomach about the 14 deaths she’d caused that day, she found herself forgetting about it all as she made her way back to her apartment on the train, daydreaming about the first boy to call her cute… And make her blush.

Meanwhile Ren found himself sitting in the dining room across from Lavenza and Caroline as Justine finished up her cooking. “I see you had a good time at Leblanc, I’m glad you had a good day Ren.”

He nodded to Lavenza as Caroline grinned mischievously. “I hope you’re ready for tomorrow Joker, you’re going back to the Metaverse after all. And… Well, you’ll see. Hope you’re ready to meet your kitty again.”

And suddenly he found himself dreading the next day.

_4/11_

Ren walked down the path towards Shujin, the rain pouring down hard. He remembered this day well; it was the day he had met Ryuji and Ann. He saw an awning and went to take shelter under it. He waited, and sure enough, a girl in red tights ran under the awning as well. She was instantly recognisable, and damnit if he didn’t want to throw his arms around her and yell in joy as she pulled down the hood on her hoodie.

She looked over to him slowly, and Ren gave her his best smile, getting hers in return. He knew Ann’s ticks, how could he not? She was nervous, she was anticipating something bad, and sure enough, a familiar car with darkened windows coasted in front of them. The window rolled down and revealed the most punchable face Ren could ever remember seeing… Suguru Kamoshida, rapist and abusive coach. “Hey Takamaki! Want a ride?”

Ann sighed, looking down as she nodded. She got into the car and Kamoshida turned to Ren with a similar, if faker and less leery smile. “You too? You’ll be late for school at this rate.”

He shook his head, doing his best to keep his composure. “No thank you _sir_ , I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

Kamoshida shrugged before winding the window up, driving off without another word. Ren watched him go with a barely contained snarl, what he did to Shiho, who had only been kind to him in the limited time he’d known her, was inexcusable. “Fucking creep…”

Suddenly a female voice from his side snorted and replied. “You can say that again.”

He grew very, very cold. Turning his head robotically, he saw standing there a girl with straight, long blond hair, a disgusted look at the car that had just left and a hairclip that left only half of her face exposed, the other half hidden behind her hair. “U-Um…”

She looked over at him before blinking in confusion. “Hey, you a Shujin student too? You see through Kamoshida’s bullshit too? Not seen you around before.”

Ren gulped, not trusting his voice. This couldn’t be… Oh for the love of all that was holy don’t let it be him. “U-Uh, yeah, but I’m just a-“

She seemed not to hear him as she continued her tirade, seemingly unaware as to Ren’s internal crisis. “I mean, what the hell does he think Shujin is!? Some kinda castle where he’s the king!?”

And the world shifted. Everything seemed the same but… It was different. The rain stopped, the people kept moving in silence, and Ren had to do his best to repress the change in his clothing that begged to be released. The girl turned to him with a grin and said. “Well, come on, we’ve gotta get going or else we’re gonna be late.”

Ren couldn’t do anything but stay silent as he walked alongside her. She didn’t seem to realise the change in the atmosphere, only being taken aback when they arrived at the castle where the Phantom Thieves had claimed their first victim. “Whoa… What the hell? This is Shujin but… Weird. Hey dude, you know what’s going on?”

He gulped down his disgust and replied, his voice finally obeying his commands to just stay stable. “Well… I don’t know, but the sign says that it’s Shujin.”

She looked over to where he was pointing and nodded. “You’re right! Must be a surprise festival or something, that’s pretty cool. Come on, let’s head in.”

They walked into the palace and Joker contained the bile rising in his throat at the decadence. Palaces were disgusting places, none more so than this one. The girl looked around in awe as she asked. “What the fuck? This place is totally different, right? Hey-“

Before she could continue, the clanking of metal boots on the stone ground stopped her. A guard in full armour appeared before them, and she said in awe. “W-Whoa! Is that a costume, that’s kickass! Hey, what’s the deal?”

From behind her, another guard walked over and smacked her down with his shield, sending her falling to the ground unconscious as Ren winced. He couldn’t interfere, not yet… God how he wished he could justify that to the part of him that was berating him for not protecting a girl. Another guard smacked Ren in the face, and he feigned falling unconscious. There was no way some chump was going to send him unconscious after he’d spent countless hours training and harnessed all of humanities hopes. As the guards began to drag them away, he heard one of them say in exasperation. “Man, this slave just won’t learn to obey, will she? If King Kamoshida weren’t as merciful as he was, she’d be executed by now.”

They were silent on the trip down to the dungeons and Ren allowed himself to be thrown onto the cot. Once the guards had clanked away, he allowed himself to open his eyes and saw that he was indeed locked in one of the dungeons cells. The girl was still unconscious, roughed up but breathing. He sighed as he stretched out his back happily, taking stock of the situation. Looking around, he found himself looking around. There was an un-mortared area of wall, the bars were rusted at the bottom, he could escape if needed… Damnit, his mask had appeared.

Reaching up Ren felt along the contours of the mask, looking over his body in surprise when he saw that his clothes hadn’t change. “Fear not. Your heart is strong enough to resist the distortions with nought but thy mask.”

He was surprised, but the voice was familiar enough not to scare him. “… Good day Arsene.”

A laugh was heard echoing around the cell, like he was speaking from just behind his shoulder. “Good day to you too, Master Trickster. I commend your composure in the face of the changes to the Captain’s master.”

Ren laughed, Arsene’s dry wit was always refreshing. “Things are different but… Ryuji? I’m scared to think of what’s to come.”

Arsene chuckled and replied, his voice beginning to fade. “Why, I’m sure you shall be pleasantly surprised. Now, do remember to make a scene.”

His voice faded, and the cot behind him began to stir while his mask burnt away in a flare of blue fire. “W-Wha…?”

Ren turned around to see her waking up, wiping her eyes. “You feeling okay?”

She blinked twice as she pushed herself up, stretching her arms behind her back, causing Ren to avert his eyes politely. “Headache, but not much else. What the hell was their problem, eh? Where are we anyway?”

Ren folded his arms and leaned back against the wall, explaining kindly. “A prison cell, I think we can bust out if we need to.”

She hummed before smirking, musing. “How long was I out? More importantly, how long have you been awake? And the biggest question… What did you do to pass the time?”

He gaped like a fish, trying to formulate an alibi before she scoffed and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t look like that man, I’m just fuckin’ with ya. You said you had a way-“

Before she could finish that thought the clanking of metal boots interrupted her. They both turned to see Kamoshida and a cohort of shadows looking down on them. “Well well well, the prodigal bitch returns. Guards, let me in.”

Ren watched with a glare as the gate was opened, Kamoshida’s Shadow walking in while swishing his revolting cloak around. He walked over and clapped mockingly. “Why, I didn’t think you were _that_ stupid, walking through the front door shouting like the world was ending. I thought I’d taught you your lesson the first time around, dumb bitch. Or could you just not stay away, eh Sakamoto?”

She gritted her teeth before screaming back angrily. “Shut the fuck up! You don’t know anything!”

He cackled, motioning for the shadows to restrain her. Ren made himself silent, Kamoshida seemingly hadn’t noticed him considering he was exercising all his ability in blending into the scenery. Kamoshida walked over and leered. “Hmm, you’ve kept yourself well. Disbanding that track team did wonders for you, too bad you never wanted to join my Volleyball Club. You would’ve been great if only you hadn’t gone and tried to fight back.”

His hand caressed her cheek lightly, causing a few tears of frustration to fall from her eyes. “D-Damn it, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Kamoshida laughed and replied jeeringly, bringing his hand down to her chest as Ren stepped up silently. “Don’t you get it girly? I’m your king, your God! Now shut up and submit, Reina Sakamoto!”

Ren’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist as it made to grab her. He turned to look at him angrily before it morphed into horror as Ren’s Phantom Thief costume flared into reality. “W-Wha-!?”

His grip tightened and Ren tensed his arm before throwing the Shadow across and into the wall. Reina looked at him in shocked awe as he flared his knife into reality, and with a few quick jabs, the shadows holding her arms dissipated into smoke. Turning to Kamoshida, he glared at the dazed Shadow before deigning to only spit on him, grabbing Reina’s hand and saying calmly. “Come on, let’s lock the door and leave him here.”

She didn’t seem to know what to say as they left the cell, leaving the door locked. He led her through the halls, finding the way out soon enough. Eventually, after a measure of walking, they came to a point where they had to cross the sewage line and Ren turned to her. “You think you can make it across?”

Reina blinked, looking down at their locked hands and blushed excitedly. “U-Um, m-my leg…”

Ren looked to where she was looking and yelped, letting go of it like it was hot. “A-Ah! Oh yeah… U-Um… How do we… Wait, do you mind if I…”

She extended her hand daintily, averting her eyes while holding her other hand to her face to hide half of her happy blush. “Well, do what you must good sir.”

He stopped and stared at her for a long moment, not quite believing his eyes. Eventually she looked up at him confusedly before asking curiously, tilting her head. “What’s the holdup?”

Ren sighed and rubbed his forehead; this was freaking him the hell out. He knelt down and swept her into a princess carry much to her delight. Jumping across the river without a word, he found himself setting her down, not entirely sure how he felt about the whole situation. Walking away, ignoring Reina’s semi-joking, semi-serious demands to hold her hand again, they found themselves at a drawbridge next to a creepy stone statue of Kamoshida.

Reina looked at it with disgust before turning to Ren with barely hidden excitement. “Hey, you think we need to jump across the river again? Think you can-“

She was interrupted by cries of ‘Hey! You two! Come over here a sec!’ coming from a few cells down. Ren grinned imperceptibly at the excuse to get out of that situation. “Let’s go check that out.”

She pouted but followed along. Ren reached the cell and peered inside, only to find his eyes widening as his world began to crumble around him. “God have mercy…”

Standing, about 4 to 5 ft tall with a pair of cat ears, jet black hair and distressed blue eyes was a girl gripping onto the bars. When she saw his clothes, her expression morphed into excitement. “You! You’re a Phantom Thief too? You gotta get me outta here!”

Reina looked at her in equal shock, but more as a result of the cat ears than the difference from the tiny cat that Ren had once known. “U-Um, are those…?”

Ren sighed, slamming his head into the bars with gusto as Arsene cackled in his mind. The girl who was almost certainly Morgana grinned and pointed to her ears happily. “Pretty cool, aren’t they? It’s like I’m a real Kitty, I like ‘em. Seriously though, could you get me out of here? I hate closed spaces.”

He silently grabbed the latch and opened it up, holding the door open for her to walk out. She did so with a grateful smile and said happily. “Sweet freedom! Thanks man, I owe ya one! The names Morgana, Phantom Thief Extraordinaire.”

He couldn’t help but grin, at least that was the same. “Ren Amamiya, similar situation. Don’t suppose you want to escape with us as well?”

She looked up at him in shock before grinning and tapping her nose. “Not quite yet! I’ve got a bit more infiltrating to do, a girl’s gotta earn her pudding after all! But since you’re such a gentleman, I guess I can show ya to the exit point. What’s your name blondie?”

Reina blinked before nodding, shifting her eyes over to Ren curiously. “R-Reina Sakamoto. What’s a Phantom Thief? What the hell was that earlier Amamiya?”

Morgana went to explain it before Ren cut in, a finger to his lips. “A gentleman, much like a lady, has his secrets.”

Reina swooned before composing herself as Morgana grinned up at him. “Smooth. Alright, let’s get a move on. I reckon you’ve got your persona considering your distortion suit’s on, you can count on me in a fight too.”

They walked back over to the drawbridge and Morgana reached up to the jaw, pulling it down and causing the pullies to release and lower the bridge. They kept running through the castle with Morgana at the helm, but no shadows were fast enough to transform without Ren simply stabbing them in the neck. He felt good, the only thing that could have made his day better was if he could just go for the treasure.

Eventually after passing through the entrance hall, they found themselves in a room with a large ventilation shaft. Morgana pointed it out to them and turned to Ren. “You can get out safely through there, nice workin’ with ya!”

Ren smiled down at her, patting her head lightly as if she were the cat he knew she was. “You gonna be alright this time? Don’t want to come back and find you sitting in a cell again.”

Morgana purred at the touch before pouting and batting his hand away lightly. “I just got sloppy for a second, I got this! Anyways, I’m just gonna grab some more treasure before I leave. If I see you around here again, I’ve got your back.”

She turned to walk away, and Ren found his eyes wandering to the tail that was swishing languidly behind her. Reina blinked and giggled at his expression, taking note of his fixation. “Man, this place is crazy. Let’s go, I wanna get out of this place.”

He shook himself out of it, jumping up to grab the ventilation shaft’s cover and rip it off. Setting it down, he helped Reina up and into the shaft behind him and began to crawl. Eventually they made it out into the fresh air, and Ren sighed in relief. Helping Reina down from the jump, they ran off and away from the castle, and Ren blinked as they passed the palace’s boundaries.

The world turned back to normality, and the rain began to hit them again. Reina pushed a few loose strands of hair behind her head as she looked back to the castle, only to find Shujin Academy waiting imposingly over them. “W-Whoa, it’s the real Shujin.”

Ren sighed in relief, enjoying the rain for a second before opening his phone. Looking over to the clock, he winced when he saw that it was about time for second period to end. “Ah shit… We should get going.”

Reina blinked before realizing what he was talking about. She groaned in frustration as she muttered. “Damn it, why’d we have to go to school anyways… Dude, your name’s Ren Amamiya right? You down to talk on the roof after school?”

Ren nodded with a smile and she gave him a grin. “Sounds good! Alright, let’s get this over with.”

They approached the gate to find Urushimaru looking down at them angrily. “Hey! Sakamoto, new guy! What the hell were you thinking, showing up this late?”

He bit his tongue, this guy was a piece of work as always. Reina scoffed and put on an ugly snarl. “The hell is it to you? You gonna let us through or not?”

Urushimaru matched her expression before they were interrupted by a familiar voice. “Come on, leave them be. Kids will be kids after all.”

Kamoshida walked out from the school’s door and Ren was surprised when Reina took a step closer to him, her eyes trained on him like a hawk. Urushimaru scoffed and replied. “Yeah, and delinquents should be given flowers and chocolate. What’s the plan then?”

He gazed down on them with a self-satisfied smirk, acting as if he were their saviour. “Well, I’m sure the transfer just got lost on his way. Must’ve run into Sakamoto and she dragged him away, we know what she’s like. I say detention with me should do the trick.”

Reina snarled at him and began angrily. “What the hell are you talking about, you bastard! What the hell was that in the cas-“

She was stopped when Ren grabbed her hand, giving her a small wink which brought a light blush to her face and calmed her down. Turning back to them, he brought himself to his full height and said diplomatically. “The rain was coming down hard, I found myself turned around trying to escape it. Sakamoto found me and offered to lead me to the academy when it lightened up, though I must confess I found myself asking more questions than I ought to have. I’m from the country see, the city is unfamiliar.”

He barely bowed his head, keeping a small polite smile on his face. Masks were useful, but he didn’t quite like this one as much as Jokers. Kamoshida blinked in surprise before Ren fixed him with a stare, not allowing him to break eye contact. He’d learned this trick from Sojiro, nothing got someone to not think straight than an intense stare. “O-Oh! Yeah, that makes sense. Bring an umbrella next time though. Get to class, both of you.”

Ren didn’t let up, letting him have the final say wouldn’t leave a lasting impression. “Well, I was told to go to the faculty office when I arrived. I don’t suppose you would lead me, could you Kamoshida-Sensei?”

Reina looked at him sharply before she saw the fake expression in his eyes and hid a grin. Kamoshida stammered for a moment as Ren whispered to Reina. “Lunchtime, Rooftop.”

She nodded as Kamoshida laughed with barely hidden nervousness. “W-Well, sure! Nothing like helping a new student out.”

He followed along as Reina turned to go towards her classroom, Urushimaru staring at Kamoshida in incredulity, not quite believing how cowed the man seemed to be. They entered the school and it appeared that break had begun, and judging from the stares, his criminal record had been leaked. But seeing him walk in with Kamoshida seemed to make them avert their eyes. Ren was having a lot of fun, he had a bed of confidence now, and messing with this bastard was excellent stress relief. “This is quite the school Sensei. If I remember right, you teach P.E? Considering your record, you must work a class half to death.”

Kamoshida gulped before replying in entirely fake joviality, the sweat on his neck visible to those close enough. “W-Well gotta make the students the best they can be after all! My volleyball team is the pride of the school.”

Ren didn’t let up, the sadistic pleasure welling up in him as he replied. “Really? There’s a male and female volleyball team, correct? I’d hope you’d pace us properly, don’t want anyone breaking a bone.”

He shivered, Ren had him on the ropes. One more word and he could have the man making an excuse and running off to the P.E hall… But this was more fun. “Q-Quite right…”

Ren stayed silent as they approached the faculty office, and Kamoshida turned to leave before Ren piped up innocently. “Sir, I hate to impose, but could you verify my alibi? I doubt Ms Kawakami will be as understanding.”

Kamoshida looked at him as if he were a devil before nodding silently. Ren opened the door and walked over to where Kawakami was sitting. She looked up at him in boredom before realizing that Kamoshida was with him, her eyebrow raising. “Oh? I trust you have an explanation for your tardiness? I was told you’d give me no trouble.”

He smirked so that only she could see it and recited his story. “Well, the rain came down hard and I took shelter, didn’t want to come to school sick after all. Mr Kamoshida is willing to corroborate my story.”

Kamoshida was pierced by Kawakami’s stare and only nodded before turning to leave, wiping his brow. “I-If that’s all, I gotta go.”

He near ran out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Ren turned back to Kawakami who was only looking at him with a bemused look. “Nice going, he’s a piece of work. Anyways, you not giving me trouble?”

Ren took his fake glasses off and set them in his pocket, he had no need for the innocent look anymore. “Won’t give you trouble, never said anything about him. Let’s say I have a vendetta against _his_ type, shall we?”

Kawakami blinked before chuckling. “Not wrong about that, just don’t push your luck with him probation boy. Come on, let’s go to class.”

They walked through the halls and Ren found himself standing outside the familiar 2-D classroom. Kawakami turned back to him and nodded. “Alright, just say your name and some pleasantry. They know about your background, so don’t be surprised if they’re cold towards you.”

He nodded and followed her in, the class looking at him cautiously as they whispered about the rumours. Kawakami took the podium and said, motioning her hand in his direction. “Alright, settle down. This is our new transfer student. Introduce yourself.”

His eyes were immediately drawn to Ann who was staring out the window in boredom. Ren cleared his throat before calling upon the well of charm he’d accrued. Tilting his head cutely much like Haru did, he smiled brightly and said cheerfully. “Hi! I’m Ren Amamiya, but you can call me Ren. I like coffee and cats. It’s a pleasure to meet you all and I hope we can be friends.”

The room seemed to brighten and the early April chill left the room, his angelic presence enthralling the class. Kawakami looked at him incredulously before giggling. “Well that’s new… You can take that seat behind Takamaki, over there.”

The whispers had begun again, but they had shifted to either bemusement from the guys or giggles from the girls. As he walked past Ann, she looked up at him with a strange look in her eyes as she said quietly. “Smooth.”

He grinned and muttered back as he took his seat. “It’s all in the head tilt.”

She looked back at him with a small smile before Kawakami brought them to order. The class began, and Ren could feel the classes stares on him. Eventually they were told to bring out their textbooks and Kawakami looked over to him. “Amamiya, you should share with someone for today, I’ll get your copy for tomorrow. Takamaki, do you mind?”

The rest of the girls were suddenly glaring at her before Ann nodded and pulled her chair around to sit next to him on the same desk. “Here, you can read fine right?”

Ren gave her a small smile as he replied, knowing that she must still be on edge these days. “Thank you, I’m fine.”

She nodded silently, working away at the exercise they were supposed to be doing. Ren finished it quickly, this stuff was infantile for him after Makoto’s study sessions from hell. Once he was done, he peered over at Ann’s page to see that she had made a few careless errors. He couldn’t blame her, and he wanted to help but… She wouldn’t take kindly to it right now. Kawakami was busy napping at the front and a few conversations had kicked off, so he decided to broach a small conversation. “Say, I haven’t seen many girls around that look like you. Are you European by chance?”

Ann looked up at him curiously before nodding. “Yeah, my father’s Japanese but my mother is Finnish. What brings it up?”

Ren smiled and explained, trying to put her at ease if only for a little bit. “Ah, just curiosity. The family I’m boarding with are German you see. I’ve always wanted to go to Europe actually, but I’m not the most confident speaker.”

She smiled at him quietly, looking back down to the page. “I get what you mean, I-I’m fine with speaking English but writing it is… Well, anyway, what was with you this morning? Why’re you late anyway?”

He grinned and replied cheekily. “A gentleman needs his secrets, they’re just less interesting than a lady’s.”

Ann looked at him in shock, knowing what he was getting at. Her glare tightened as her grip on her pen followed suit. “Don’t get any funny ideas, alright? Everybody knows I’m Kamoshida’s bitch.”

Ren set his own pencil down, setting his chin in his hand as he leaned on the desk. “Well that just wouldn’t be interesting, would it? I suppose something more interesting than that, perhaps blackmail, perhaps loyalty. Whatever it is, I don’t care, but smiling does wonders for the complexion you know.”

She looked at him curiously before mumbling quietly. “L-Look, I’m not… _Sigh_ , fine, you got me. Don’t pry any further and I’ll… What do you want?”

He let up, leaning back on his chair as he replied softly. “Nothing in particular, but I have a vested interest in Kamoshida that may not be entirely pacifistic.”

Ann gaped at him as Kawakami awoken at the sound of the bell. She collected in the sheets before they were dismissed for lunch. A few girls began to crowd around him, but Ren smiled charmingly and said to them. “Apologies ladies, I must be off. I’d be happy to talk to you at a later _date_ perhaps.”

They let out small screams as he walked through them, Ann’s gaze on his back constantly. He’d piqued her interest; it’d make bringing her into the Phantom Thieves much easier… Perhaps he’d be able to stop Shiho’s suicide attempt this time, it’d make Ann much happier in the long run. Arriving at the roof, he closed the door behind him before turning to see Reina sitting on one of the desks with bento in her hands. “Hey man, how’s class?”

Ren took a seat himself, leaning against the wall even if it was slightly overgrown. He just wanted to drop the mask for a second, and Ryuji was who he was most comfortable with last time… God this was weird. “Putting on a smile get’s tiring, but I’ve managed. Yourself?”

Reina scoffed and replied, tossing a clump of rice into her mouth. “Eh, you’ll get used to it. I’m the delinquent whore girl, nobody was surprised by me coming in late. That was a kickass way of putting down Kamoshida though, totally pulled the rug out from under him!”

Ren laughed in tandem with her until eventually, she began earnestly. “Seriously though, what the fuck was that castle? Was that really Kamoshida in there? Who was that cat girl?”

He hid a frown. He’d been deliberating just sticking exactly to the old ways but… That was impossible, the spirit of rebellion wasn’t one that stuck to its track. “It’s… A long story, I’d best tell you it after school. In essence, it’s a different world made of how someone perceives the world. Kamoshida thinks this place is his castle, so in that world…?”

Reina blinked before gaping. “Shujin is actually his castle!? What the fuck… That’s so messed up. How do you know that though?”

He smirked before explaining. “A gentleman has his secrets.”

She pouted petulantly before wincing, remembering what she had acted like in the palace. “H-Hey, on the subject I… Could you just forget about what I said before? A-About you doing what you must…?”

He shivered internally at the memory before quipping back. “I don’t know, you were pretty adorable.”

She blushed furiously before staring at him seriously. “I need you to promise, okay man? The only reason I’ve not had too much trouble since Kamoshida showed up is because I’ve got my bad girl image. I-If it turns out I’m some romantic… S-Some guy will try something eventually, a-and I don’t…”

Ren’s eyes narrowed before he asked dangerously, though he tried to keep it out of his voice. He’d suspected that something else had happened apart from just breaking her leg. “What did he do to you, Sakamoto. I swear to you, this stays between us.”

Reina looked at him in shock before pulling her knees up to her chest, her gaze off somewhere into the sky. “It was… Last year. I was on the track team when he showed up. He threatened the track team with disbandment if I didn’t… Keep him company. He didn’t try anything until one day when he tried to get handsy. I pushed him away, he didn’t let up. He told me that if I didn’t give up he’d disband the track team but I got scared and kicked him in the groin. H-He flew into a frenzy a-and… Broke my leg. It was self-defence he said, and who’d believe the troubled girl… Went through physical therapy, came back and found the track team disbanded, the team hated me and the school thought I was some kind of whore. What other choice did I have but to put up my fists and toughen up?”

Ren stayed silent for a long moment before saying quietly. “You reckon you ruptured a ball?”

Reina scoffed, wiping the tears that had gathered from her eyes as she responded confidently. “Both of them, you’re speaking to the former ace of the track team buddy. You really aren’t…?”

He stood up, wiping himself off before turning to her with a mysterious smile. “Well, that depends. How about we make a deal?”

She blinked, setting aside her empty bento as she asked in turn. “What kind of deal?”

Ren spoke with a confident grin. Kamoshida was going down for what he’d done to Reina, and he wouldn’t let his memories of Ryuji get in the way of getting to know Reina, it’d be unfair to both of them. “You’re going to let your mask fall away when we’re alone… And in return, I’ll help you take down Kamoshida.”

He’d extended his hand, and Reina looked at it in awe before looking back up at him, her own hand tentatively reaching out. “A-And how do we do that?”

His smile spoke volumes as his grin morphed into one that others would recognize as Joker’s, not Ren’s. “Well, I suppose I’ll just have to let you in on a gentleman’s secret.”

_I am thou, thou art I_

_Thou hast acquired a new vow._

_It shall become the wings of rebellion once more_

_And breaketh thy chains of captivity as they did before._

_With the birth of the Chariot Persona_

_I have obtained the winds of blessing that_

_Shall lead to freedom and powers once lost._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another one

Ren watched as the students of Shujin walked past him, turning to go to the train station. He was waiting for Reina, she must’ve been held up. The students had apparently either not heard about his strange introduction, or were looking at him oddly and not bothering him. Probably should have gotten her contact information at lunch, but they’d gotten into the specifics of changing hearts too much.

Eventually he heard a cough to get his attention and turned, but was surprised when he didn’t see Reina but instead saw Makoto Niijima. He nearly wanted to reach out to her, but he caught himself before he did so. “You, you’re the transfer student, right? Could I have a moment of your time?”

He nodded and asked measuredly, not wanting to let any familiarity bleed into his tone. “What can I do for you?”

She cleared her throat before saying in what Ren thought was supposed to be an authoritative voice, but just ended up being adorably petulant. “I got word that you showed up late today with Reina Sakamoto. I wanted to ensure that this won’t happen again.”

Ren supressed a sigh, he didn’t really want to intimidate her but that was just… Icky, Makoto and Ryuji were always at loggerheads, but they never got to the point of aggression. “Showing up late, or hanging with her?”

That took her aback, and she began to stammer out a response before Ren leaned back on the wall, continuing. “She seems alright, and wasn’t particularly kind about Kamoshida. Fun, amiable, one might even say she’s attractive. So why would you want me to not hang around her?”

Makoto took a step back, horrified by whatever he was accusing her of. “I-I’m not-“

Ren stepped closer, matching her own. “Could you be jealous of her? A vendetta? Or possibly it’s not you that wants her isolated… But the principal?”

Makoto stopped, gaping in horror. He stepped back, noticing Reina approaching curiously and not feeling very comfortable himself. “The world isn’t a one track lane where authority is always right, remember that. And when you realise that what you tried to do was wrong, apologise to her. Now, you’ll go and speak of this to no-one. Understood?”

She nodded obediently, scurrying off as Reina approached and eyed him dangerously. “Terrorising the Student Council President? As a girl, I can tell you now we don’t find that attractive.”

Ren smirked to himself and replied confidently. “Some are into it. Now, ready?”

She scoffed in disbelief and nodded and they went to the alleyway across from the entrance and Ren brought them into the Metaverse, his clothes changing into his Phantom Thief costume much to Reina’s barely-hidden hungry gaze. Turning away from her, Ren motioned for her to follow him into the infiltration route.

After crawling inside, he saw surprised to see Morgana sitting on the table, her haul stashed in a backpack next to her as she nursed a burn wound on her arm. “Hey, what happened?”

She looked up in surprise as Ren walked over to her while Reina held her hands over her mouth, evidently not good with the sight of blood. “O-Oh! Amamiya, just one of those shadows got me while I was busy. Out of wind too…”

Ren sighed and smiled, kneeling down and casting a Diaharan on the affected area. “Any better?”

Morgana flexed her arm before grinning up at him gratefully. “Thanks! You’re a real life saver, y’know that? Anyways, what’re you doing here again? Going for the treasure?”

He turned back to Reina before motioning her to go forward, taking a Soul Food out from his pocket and passing it over to Morgana. “Yeah, this guy’s got to go. Yourself?”

Morgana stood up and patted her haul with an excited smile as she quickly munched the unmarked bar down. “Well… I wanted to get the treasure for myself, but I’m here for the cash. Say, how about we strike up a deal?”

Reina blinked before asking curiously. “What kind of deal?”

She crossed her arms before explaining. “You’re just here for his heart, whereas I’m here for the treasure. What say we work together? We go halves on the loot, it’d make the infiltration much easier with someone like Amamiya on side.”

Ren smirked as he asked bemusedly. “Halves? I count three in the room.”

Morgana grinned back mischievously, sidling up to him. “And I count two Phantom Thieves, halves and I get the loot on the way.”

He set a finger on her forehead, keeping her at distance as he looked down at her with a smile. “Just take it all why don’t you? This won’t work long term, will it? How about… You take the final piece, and we’ll split the loot on the way?”

Morgana giggled as she stepped back, giving him a bright smile as she responded. “Well you drive a hard bargain, one that I’ll have to accept! Glad to be working with ya!”

Ren laughed as he ruffled her hair while Reina smiled from the side. This was a welcome change of pace from Morgana’s old talk about him being an amateur. “Likewise. Let’s get going, I want to do some investigation.”

Morgana and Reina nodded and followed behind him as they walked through the halls, and eventually Ren brought them down to the dungeons. They came to the river and Ren sighed as Morgana effortlessly leapt across the water. Reina looked at him expectantly, but was surprised when he offered her his hand with a mock deep voice. “If you’d excuse me, Milady.”

She laughed before giving him it, but instead of the earlier bridal carry he just hoisted her over his shoulder and jumped across. “H-Hey! This is no way to treat a lady!”

Ren scoffed and quipped back, setting her down. “Yeah, good thing I’m treating a village girl.”

She huffed petulantly as Morgana cackled from the side, asking curiously as they continued to walk. “And myself?”

Ren ruffled her hair, an oddly calming motion he found. “Cat-Burglar, now let’s get going.”

They continued down the hallway, Ren dispatching the shadows with ease before they arrived at the Training Hall of Love. Reina had to turn away from the torture as Morgana gritted her teeth while Ren looked down at them impassively, though disgusted internally. “This guy, Kamoshida, he’s a real piece of work isn’t he?”

Ren nodded, muttering. “Torturer and rapist, a textbook scumbag. Come on, I want to get out of here for today, I’ve seen enough.”

Reina followed along, holding her hand over her mouth. Evidently she was sickened by the bare reality of it all, and Ren picked her up in a normal bridal carry without a word when they had to get past the river again. Once they got to the main lobby, Ren saw Kamoshida waiting with his guards behind a pillar and spoke out much to the surprise of his companions. “Nice of you to join us, you piece of shit.”

Kamoshida walked out as the guards moved to surround them. “Oh ho ho, to think I’d run into you again you petty thief. And is that the cat bitch and the delinquent whore with you? I’ll make sure to deal with them properly this time.”

Ren smirked back, but didn’t move to pull of his mask. Morgana sidled closer to him as she whispered. “H-Hey, can we take these guys?”

He nodded but motioned to Reina, who was clenching her fists in rage, and whispered. “Let this play out, I can take them if need be.”

Kamoshida turned to Reina with a mocking smug look. “Oh? Angry are we? Maybe if you’d have just shut up, you’d have been much happier. Why, you might have even stood beside me instead of the consolation prize.”

Her eyes widened as from behind the pillar, Ann Takamaki walked out in a tacky bikini and a pair of cat ears. Kamoshida grabbed her face and looked it over imperiously, monologuing. “She really is a perfect toy, all looks and no brain. Once I’m done with you, I might give her a bit of attention. Granted I’m starting to get bored of her.”

Reina’s eyes narrowed as she bit out. “Shut the hell up, you bastard.”

Kamoshida looked at her angrily as he asked. “What was that?”

She screamed back, no longer caring for propriety. “Shut the fuck up you bastard! You have no fucking clue what Ann’s like! Don’t fucking touch her, you hear me!?”

Suddenly she stopped, her eyes widening in pain as Ren began to chuckle. Readying himself as a mask slowly formed on her face as Morgana watched in awe. Eventually Reina steadied herself, pointing at Kamoshida accusingly. “You’re gonna fuckin see, you’re going down!”

Her hand reached up to her mask and ripped it off with a visceral, painful scream. “PERSONA!”

A form appeared behind her, a swirling mass of blue fire that exploded into the image of a strange mix of traditional Chinese clothing and pirate attire with a wooden face. “Let’s do this, Admiral Shih!”

Ren stepped up next to her as the guards erupted into a hoard of shadows. Morgana laughed as she also prepared to rip of her mask. “Well, would you look at that… Come forth, Josephine!”

Behind Morgana a strange mix of French maid and duellist appeared behind her, much to the surprise of Ren when the usual Zorro didn’t appear. Pulling off his own mask, he summoned Arsene who turned to Josephine with a strange silent gaze. Josephine did much the same as the shadows began to engage into combat with a rampaging Reina. “… A pleasure, Countess.”

Josephine did a mock salute with her rapier, replying haughtily. “Monsieur Lupin, likewise. Let us settle this at a later date, shall we? The Admiral cannot be expected to do all the work.”

Arsene simply nodded as Ren got to work destroying his share of the shadows, bolts of cursed energy lancing out and piercing the monsters. In short order, they finished off the hoard but when the dust cleared they found that Kamoshida and the fake Ann had ran away.

They both turned to Reina who was panting on the floor, tuckered out from her awakening. Morgana walked over first, kneeling down to help her up. “Hey, you feeling alright? That was a pretty explosive awakening.”

She grinned up at her as Ren got a look at her Phantom Thief costume. It was pretty similar to Ryuji’s, but was sleeker and the mask seemed sharper at the canines. “Y-Yeah, I’m alright. What a rush! That was fucking sweet!”

Ren smirked as he motioned back towards the doors. “Come on, let’s get out for tonight. I don’t want to take any chances with your health after an awakening.”

They accepted and followed him out of the palace, reappearing in the real world. Morgana was exactly the same as she was in the metaverse but her clothes seemed dirtier, more tattered. Ren filed that away, if that was a parallel then… She was homeless. Turning to them he offered. “Let’s head for a meal, beef bowl on me.”

Morgana cheered as she held her burlap sack tight to her chest. Reina nodded, looking a bit worse for wear. After a short trip on the train to Shibuya they walked into the beef bowl shop and ordered their meals. Reina began in a whisper as they waited, getting closer to Ren as to not be overheard. “So I’m a persona user now? What’s it like?”

He looked around cautiously before whispering back. “Let’s leave it for tomorrow, too many people around. Let’s head to my place tomorrow after school, I’ll explain then.”

Reina looked slightly put out before their massive bowls arrived, causing Morgana to yelp in delight as she dug into hers with abandon. Ren chastised her lightly. “Slow down Morgana, you’ll eat yourself to death at that rate.”

She looked up at him with a hiss as she wrapped her arms around the bowl defensively while the cook laughed jovially. “You should listen to your brother Miss! Good on you for taking care of her.”

Ren took it in stride, giving the man a grateful smile before beginning his own meal. They ate with gusto, famished from the day. Eventually they all finished in tandem and they set down their bowls with sighs of satisfaction. Ren tapped away on his phone for a few seconds as Morgana got to work downing the soda he’d gotten for her.

Reina stood up first, grabbing her bag. “Alright, I should be getting home, my mom’ll be worried. Thanks for everything today Ren, I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

He waved her off as she walked out of the shop, leaving only himself and Morgana. The shop itself was emptying, and he muttered to the girl quietly. “You need a place to stay, don’t you?”

She looked up at him in shock before mumbling embarrassedly. “I-I’m alright on the streets, I can feed myself and stuff.”

Ren scoffed and stood up, motioning for her to follow. She did so curiously, and was shocked when after a short train ride they found themselves standing outside of his house. “W-Why’d you bring me here? This where you live or something?”

He nodded and explained, stepping inside. “We’ve got some room, you can stay with us. Don’t worry about the legality, we’re not particularly fond of the police.”

Morgana gaped as she followed him inside timidly, and was scared into hiding behind him when Caroline stepped out from the living room with a can of beer in hand. “Inmaaate! Bringing urchin’s off the street eh? That’s a crime y’know!”

Ren sighed, rubbing his forehead as Justine appeared and lead the drunk woman back into the living room before reappearing, offering Morgana a smile. “We’ve been expecting you Morgana, please, make yourself at home. I’m afraid you’ll be staying in Ren’s room, but we’ll provide adequate bedding.”

Morgana nodded silently, looking around the decoration intimidated. She allowed herself to be lead upstairs and into Ren’s bedroom, where she breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the contemporary decoration. “T-Thank god, I thought you were posh.”

He shrugged, setting his bag down as he took a seat on his bed. “They’re rich, but they’re the furthest thing from posh. I’m living with them for the year while I’m on probation, but they’re easy enough to get along with.”

Morgana nodded, laying out on the sofa with a sigh of pleasure as she sunk into the well loved cushions. Before Ren could get another word in, he could hear the light snoring coming from the girl and smiled to himself. Taking up a blanket from the storage, he walked over and put it over her and ensured that her head was positioned so that she wouldn’t get a neck cramp in her sleep, he went downstairs.

Down in the living room he found Caroline and Justine sat watching the tv as the former got progressively more drunk. “Who let her try alcohol?”

Justine giggled as she responded. “Why, Ms Kawakami recommended it for a headache, and Caroline seems to have taken it to heart. Now remember to teach Morgana where everything is, I’ll be sure to have a proper mattress prepared for tomorrow.”

He nodded, walking over to the kitchen and producing a cup of coffee. Walking back to the living room he took a seat and asked curiously. “Say, where’s Lavenza? Would have expected her to be here to greet Morgana.”

Justine shrugged before changing the channel, marvelling at the remote control as she did so. “Perhaps she’s preparing her own greeting…”

Ren nodded, ignoring the intuition in his stomach to watch over Morgana as she slept for her safety.

_Nighttime._

Morgana awoke not on the lovely cushions of her new favourite person’s couch, but instead in a strange room covered in blue velvet. Her arms were bound behind her back, and a gag was in her mouth. Behind her she could feel a presence, one that screamed danger.

It spoke in a low, sweet voice that belied the intent behind the words. “Now that you’re awake, I’ll be laying out the conditions for living here. You will adhere to them, or well… They won’t find your body.”

Morgana’s hackles raised but the voice continued in it’s syrupy, deadly tone. “You will not accept headpats from Ren. You will not refer to him as your big brother, and you will do whatever to dissuade him of any notions of you being his little sister. Love him, romance him, I care not. But if you even try to step into _my_ territory, you will be punished. Now, nod if you understand.”

She could do naught but nod, and the deadly presence disappeared, being replaced with a more amiable one. “Well then, I suppose that will be just fine then. Welcome to the house Morgana, I bid you sweet dreams.”

And she felt a rag over her mouth and nose, and the world darkened.

The morning came and Morgana awakened back on the couch. She groaned as she reminisced about the nightmare she’d had, that someone was warning her not to be Ren’s little sister or something. Shrugging awake, she saw that Ren had already gotten up and followed suit, walking downstairs in the strange house to the kitchen where she saw Ren being fed toast by a figure she hadn’t seen the night before. “How is it Big Brother? Blueberry Jam, imported from Europe.”

Ren chewed on it thoughtfully as the girl looked over to Morgana, holding onto Ren’s arm in a clutch as she gave her a fake smile the hid the poisonous undertone to her voice. “Why, hello there. You must be Morgana. My name is Lavenza Samt, _Ren’s little sister.”_

Morgana felt a small lump in her throat and she lowered her head submissively. “N-Nice to meet you Ms Samt…”

Ren chuckled and patted Lavenza’s head soothingly. “Don’t scare the girl this early in the morning, she’s not used to us yet. Anyways, Reina’s coming over tonight. What do you plan to do today Morgana?”

She gulped before replying nervously, gauging Lavenza’s reply as she bathed in the glow of Ren’s hand. “U-Um, n-nothing much I don’t think…”

Lavenza spoke up. “Perhaps you can help me with the house work then? It will help you get a measure of _how things are around here.”_

Morgana nodded, not trusting her voice as Ren turned to grab his bag from the table. He waved as he left, not seeing the pleading look in Morgana’s eyes as he did so and went out towards the station. Arriving at Shujin, he went up to his classroom only to find the room alight with the talk of volleyball and remembered that today was the date of the volleyball rally. Sitting at his desk, he gave Ann a nod as she held her gaze on him. She didn’t say anything as class began, and Ren absentmindedly listened to the lecture before his phone buzzed and he opened it inconspicuously, one of the talents he’d had to learn considering how bored Ryuji could get during class.

_Reina: So, we heading into the palace tonight?_

_Ren: Morgana’s at my place, and I want to take a shopping day before we head in again._

Her next reply came so fast he had barely lifted his thumb from the screen.

_Reina: YES! Alright we can head to Shibuya tomorrow, yeah? What kinda stuff are you getting?_

_Ren: We need medical supplies and model guns, I found a place in Shibuya called Untouchable and there’s a clinic in Yongen-Jaya I can get meds from._

_Reina: …_

_Reina: And?_

_Ren: ?_

He didn’t get a reply but he could see the defeat on her face. Class ended when lunchtime came and Ann turned to Ren with a light glare. “Who’re you texting in class? That’ll come back to bite you.”

Ren shrugged and replied. “Hey, she texted me first. I’ll be sure to pray extra hard at New… Years…”

He gritted his teeth as a sudden headache came over him, like… Something was missing. Shrugging it off he saw Ann looking at him with a questioning look. “She? You’re already talking to a girl? Who?”

The door to the room opened and Reina walked in, the rest in the class mostly ignoring her. She spotted him and jogged over with a bright smile, pushing her hair behind her ear. “Hey Ren, wanna go grab lunch?”

Ann gaped at the interaction before Reina turned to her with an ugly snarl. “Whaddaya want Takamaki?”

Ren tapped her on the shoulder and whispered, confused by the animosity. “Easy girl.”

She humphed and said to him imploringly. “I need a minute with her, you head to the roof.”

He knew it was a bad idea but… This was Reina, she wouldn’t hurt her without reason, would she? Turning to Ann questioningly, she nodded with a meek voice. “I-It’s no problem with me.”

Sighing he nodded, turning to leave with his bag slung over his shoulder. Reina waited until he was out of the room before sitting down in his seat with a huff, looking out the window, unwilling to make the first move. Ann looked at her sadly before mumbling. “He’s… Different, isn’t he?”

Reina giggled and replied. “Yeah, really different. Look Takamaki, he’s a great guy. He sticks up for what he believes in… And saw through Pedoshida immediately, he even had him on the backfoot when he tried to intimidate him. I’m going to throw my lot in with him, I think he’ll be the one to show that bastard what for.”

Ann was silent for a long moment before she giggled, replying with a small blush. “Don’t suppose his gallantry was any factor in your choice?”

Reina blushed and looked away bashfully. Ann was possibly the only person apart from her who knew about her love of trashy romance novels. “S-Shuddup…”

Ann stared at her for a long moment before Reina sighed and nodded. “Y-Yeah, he’s pretty… Y’know? Alright, I don’t want to keep him waiting. And remember, if Kamoshida tries anything, you tell me or him immediately. Even if I can’t fight him… I reckon he’s smart enough to figure out some punishment.”

Ann sighed and shook her head morosely. Kamoshida was too popular, there was no way that some new guy would be able to- “Kamoshida and the transfer? What’s going on…?”

Whispers erupted around the class as they all raced out of the classroom. Reina and Ann looked at each other curiously before they turned to follow them out into the corridor. Just outside the stairwell appeared to be Kamoshida and Ren having a standoff, Ren’s disarming smile plastered on his face as he pressed the teacher on something. “It’s just a friendly one versus one Mr Kamoshida, I’m certain it won’t be a problem for the schedule. First to a point wins, I really want to see how a real Olympian performs on the field.”

Kamoshida was backing away imperceptibly as he replied nervously. “A-Ah, I don’t know, it sounds like favouritism to me…”

Ren didn’t let up, he’d been waiting for this. “That’s a shame. I’d heard that you gave certain members of the volleyball club special one on one lessons, for their improvement that is. I’ll need to ask them about your skills then, I bet they can tell me _everything I need to know_. Thank you for your time Mr-“

Kamoshida gaped before gritting his teeth, replying with a jovial smile that belied the sweat on the back of his neck. “Oh yeah! If I can give those lessons, I can teach you a thing or two. Say, how about we have it as the final match of the day? It’d be a good palette cleanser eh?”

Ren nodded with an entirely fake smile. “Sounds good! Please don’t go easy on me.”

Kamoshida turned to walk down the stairs as the crowd began to mumble amongst itself. Reina pushed through the crowd and ran over to Ren and grabbed his cheek in a pinch. “What the hell was that?”

Ren shrugged with a carefree smile. “Just catharsis, I want to take him down a few pegs, just like you. I’m feeling hungry, and I want to be full for my match. Don’t suppose you’ll treat me to some bread will you?”

Reina scoffed and grabbed his arm, pulling him away and up the stairs. Eventually they reached the roof and Ren breathed a sigh of relief as Reina broke down into giggles. “That was so cool! But can you actually beat him? As much of an asshole who rests on his laurels as he is, he’s still an Olympic medallist.”

He opened his bag to take out the bento that Lavenza had prepared for him and opened it up, grinning at the spread of food and digging in with gusto. “And I’m a phantom thief. The gains you get in the metaverse carry over and the muscle memory remains. Add a dash of heavy training for a year and well… You’ve got a recipe for peak male performance.”

Reina nodded, hiding a blush as she asked nervously. “Y-You… Train?”

Ren nodded and lifted his shirt at the hem, revealing his toned middle. Hell, he’d learned most of this from Ryuji, no way Reina wouldn’t know. “It keeps you fit and gives you more endurance in palaces, I’d recommend you do it too.”

Reina gaped before gulping and averting her eyes. “Y-Yeah, I-I’ll… D-Do that.”

Ren shrugged before continuing to eat. After finishing off his bento he set it back in his bag before standing up, offering his hand to help Reina up. “Come on, let’s get changed for the rally.”

She looked at his hand like it was alive before tentatively giving it to him, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. They went down to the changing rooms and Ren bade her goodbye, going into the men’s and putting on his gym clothes. Leaving his bag in a locker, he went back out and went to the closest vending machine, intent on getting a canned coffee before the matches began.

When he turned the corner he found himself nearly bumping into Ann and Shiho and expertly turned out of their way to avoid a collision. Shiho looked up at him in shock before apologizing mutely. “O-Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Ren smiled down at her comfortingly. This girl… He’d make Kamoshida pay, and he sure as hell won’t allow what happened last time to occur. “Ah don’t worry about it, you must have a lot on your mind. Shiho Suzui right? Best of luck in the girl’s volleyball.”

She looked up at him with a curious look as Ann giggled and replied. “Like my Shiho needs luck! She’ll be great, she just needs to get over her nerves.”

Shiho looked back over at Ann before asking, her guard dropping slightly. “U-Um, you’re the boy Ann was talking about, who challenged Mr Kamoshida to a duel? I-I… Um, good luck yourself.”

Ren nodded gratefully before walking over to the vending machine as they followed him. “You want anything? My treat.”

Ann giggled as she replied. “Oh you charmer you, Sakamoto will get jealous y’know.”

He shrugged before turning back around with a wink, three coffees in his hand. “Our little secret, hmm?”

Ann giggled as she took the coffee as did Shiho, though more reservedly. Ren threw his back down his throat, trying his best to ignore the lacklustre taste compared to Leblanc though it seemed that Shiho and Ann enjoyed theirs. The bell rang, and Ren said conclusively. “First years are up first, right? I’m going to go and watch for a while, I’ll see you around.”

They nodded and thanked him for the coffee as they walked off. Ren went towards the practice building and took a seat in the hall, watching as the match was set up. After a while the hall began to fill with the players and a small number of spectators, evidently people weren’t that interested. The teams were decided, and Ren’s eye was caught by a pair of girls standing in the lineup. That was… Kasumi and… Her sister!? She had brown hair but it was up in Kasumi’s style, while Kasumi’s was down… What the hell was going on? Did Sumire not get killed in this timeline. As he pondered this, he felt another headache come on and gritted his teeth. Maybe he needed to get to Takemi faster than expected.

The match began and Kasumi and Sumire were on different teams. The first years were amateurish, no surprise there, but the Yoshizawa girls were faster on their feet than the rest. They duelled for a long time before the brown haired one spiked the ball in a daring jump that just barely missed the net. The buzzer was sounded and the match concluded, 4-6. Ren applauded politely and the teams dispersed and after a couple minutes the second years walked in. It was only the volleyball team that was playing, so he didn’t bother to get up as Reina walked over and sat next to him with a huff. “I’ve been looking all over for you, what the hell man?”

He shrugged apologetically as the match began between the female sides. “Sorry, didn’t have my phone on me and wanted to think for a bit.”

Reina nodded, sidling closer until their arms were just about touching. Kamoshida was watching them like a hawk, and Ren was staring right back challengingly. “Are you sure this is a smart move? Challenging Kamoshida this directly might backfire.”

Ren nodded and grabbed her hand comfortingly, making sure that Kamoshida could see it. “I’m going to destroy his reputation before we change his heart, it’ll mess with him… Not to mention it feels good.”

Reina giggled as she intertwined her fingers with his, smirking challengingly over at Kamoshida. “True that. I can’t wait to send this bastard to prison, messing with him feels good too.”

The match concluded, and Ren applauded the efforts as the males stepped up to go against the teachers considering too many of the males weren’t present for two teams. Ren watched intently as Kamoshida aggressively destroyed them singlehandedly, taking the ball whenever another teacher got it and spiking it into the students without remorse. That could be useful in his own match, this level of aggression made someone sloppy.

This match ended when Mishima had to be sent off, his nose broken. Ren was watching intently as Reina averted her eyes from the bleeding Mishima, evidently she wasn’t that good with blood. “A-Are you sure you can do this? I don’t want you getting hurt…”

Ren gripped her hand comfortingly, not noticing as Shiho and Ann walked over to them. From the side. “I’m putting that fucker in the ground, just watch.”

Ann crossed her arms as Shiho tried to hide behind her. “Don’t do anything to agitate him, you know who he’ll take it out on.”

Ren stood up, quickly towering over her as Ann gulped. He whispered to her apologetically, too frustrated after seeing Kamoshida’s repeat performance against Mishima. “Sorry, but I’ll need to borrow you for a second.”

He spoke louder this time, ensuring that Kamoshida could hear as he smiled down at Ann suavely. “Well that’s forward Takamaki, didn’t take you for the proactive type. Yeah, coffee sounds good. There’s this great little café in Yongen-Jaya, I’ll meet you after school.”

Kamoshida’s eyes raged as Ann looked at him aghast while Shiho paled. Ren whispered commandingly. “You two, turn off your phones and go straight home… Right now. I can neuter him soon, consider it a little holiday. If your parents don’t allow you to stay home, tell me, you can stay over until this is settled.”

Ann gaped as Reina asked frantically, not believing her ears. “W-We’re doing it this early? A-Are you sure Ren, I’m not…”

He looked back at her with a steely gaze as he asked sharply. “You getting cold feet?”

They were silent for a long moment before Shiho spoke up shakily. “A-Are you sure you can do this?”

Ann looked back at her incredulously before Ren smiled comfortingly down at her. “A criminal record gives you a certain freedom to do what needs to be done, it’s just a case of not getting caught. Last time was a slip up.”

Shiho nodded before giving him a grateful smile. “Well… Good luck then. Come on Ann, let’s go home.”

Ann still looked troubled but followed Shiho out of the hall. Reina watched them go before turning to Ren with a warm smile. “That was the happiest I’ve seen Suzui in a while. So… We’re doing this tonight now?”

Ren narrowed his eyes as the third year matches began. “Yeah… We’ll come back here after we go and get Morgana. If we can reach the treasure tonight, we can put him away by tomorrow evening. Alright, I want you to head to the station and go to Yongen-Jaya, find the Samt Residence and Morgana will be there. If one of the girls asks who you are, tell them you’re the Chariot, they’ll understand. The moment I’m done here I’ll race back and we can prepare. We’ll be doing an all nighter, so tell your mom that you’ll be having a sleepover or something… Are you ready to do this?”

Reina nodded, a determined look on her face. “I’ve been ready for the past year Leader, a couple days of exertion ain’t gonna stop me. Good luck.”

She walked off and Ren watched as the match concluded. He took to the stage as the announcer explained what was happening while Kamoshida stood across the net and glared at the teacher sharply. “First to a point. Ready?”

Kamoshida scoffed and nodded, too worked up from seeing Ren on his turf to remember to be scared. The ball was handed to him, and he mockingly called out. “You should have remembered your place, I’m the king of the court!”

He made a spiking serve that rang out through the hall, but when the dust cleared, the audience were shocked to see that Ren had managed to hit the ball back. Kamoshida looked at it like a predator and moved to spike again.

This dance continued for a minute before Kamoshida roared and jumped up, wound back his arm and slapped the ball down hard right towards Ren’s face. The audience gasped, but Ren had expected a desperate tactic like this. Jumping back, he presented his hands and braced. It was painful, god it was painful, but this was nothing compared to some of the shadow’s he’d fought. Sending it back over gracefully, the ball lightly hit the court thanks to Kamoshida putting himself off balance after the spike, and the crowd erupted in cheering applause at the defeat.

Ren walked up to Kamoshida while shaking out his hand which was beginning to bruise heavily, a Diaharan would fix that up quick enough. The teacher looked at him like he was a demon, nobody had ever been willing to take one of his spike on the chin before and lived to tell the tale. Ren spoke quietly, dangerously, to the point where nobody could hear him except Kamoshida. “Nice try, but it seems like your heart wasn’t in it. That was for Reina.”

Stepping back, he waved him off as he walked out of the hall to the applause of the crowd. Tonight he’d secure the infiltration route. Tomorrow he’d send the calling card, he’d need to print off a bunch… And in the evening, he’d go in for the treasure.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another one

Ren walked back into the house, intent on finding Morgana and Reina. Lavenza greeted him at the door, where she pointed upstairs with a serious nod. “The Chariot is upstairs. We will prepare the calling card for you, so please do not worry. Justine is preparing a meal for you four, so please eat before departing.”

He blinked before asking, taking off his shoes. “Four?”

Lavenza giggled before waving him off upstairs. “You’ll see.”

Ren nodded and walked upstairs, opening the door to his room to see Reina, Morgana and more surprisingly Ann sitting around the table. “Takamaki?”

She looked up at him with a stare. “I want in.”

Reina sighed and rubbed the back of her head. “I’ve been trying to explain that it’s too dangerous to include her but she really won’t listen. Could you try and convince her?”

Ren nodded and took a seat across from her, maintaining the stare. “So… Why do you want to bring Kamoshida down?”

Ann blinked, almost taken aback at the question. “W-What? He’s a creepy pervert who gets handsy with the girls and beats the hell out of the boys, why else?”

He leaned back in his seat, continuing. “And if this plan has a chance of killing him?”

Ann gaped before falling silent, thinking to herself. Reina shuffled uncomfortably as Morgana leaned on Ren’s shoulder, explaining. “It’s not the plan, but we can’t risk anybody acting out of emotion. Are you sure that when everything’s on the line, that you won’t lash out?”

They were all silent for a long moment before Ann sighed and shook her head. “I… Don’t know. Kamoshida has done so much to us, he made me chose between Shiho and Reina after what he did, he… He’s the lowest scum on the planet, but I’m so powerless to fight him. It’s frustrating, y’know?”

Ren nodded before turning to Reina. “If this goes to shit, I need to know, will you take down Kamoshida or save her?”

Reina’s eyes widened as Morgana looked at him like he was insane. He held up his hand to stop her from speaking, awaiting Reina’s answer. A long minute passed before Reina answered, her voice meek. “I-I’m sorry… I can’t let Ann get hurt in there.”

He sighed in relief, standing up with a clap of his hands. “Alright, Takamaki’s coming along. Reina, you’re in charge of teaching her about the Metaverse. Come on Morgana, I’m hungry.”

Reina blinked before shouting in disbelief. “M-Me!? B-But you guys are more-“

Ren gave her an encouraging smile before confirming. “You. You’re her senior now, and you’ve taken responsibility for her safety on the job. Takamaki, we can confirm everything she tells you, so just listen and remember. When you’re done, come down and grab some dinner.”

They left the room, closing the door behind them. Morgana looked up at him with a strange look as she asked. “You’re putting a lot of trust in her, aren’t you? Not to mention bringing Takamaki in despite her not having a persona…”

He nodded as they went to the dining room where Justine was plating up steaks for them. “Same could be said for Reina when I brought her in the first time. I’m banking on an awakening in there, we’ll relax in a saferoom for a bit but it’ll be tough on her.”

Morgana nodded as she began to salivate at the food in front of her. Before Ren could get another word in, she had begun to devour it like a woman starved. He chuckled at the display before beginning to eat more conservatively. Justine smiled excitedly at their delighted expressions, evidently pleased at the reception to her cooking.

Soon enough Reina and Ann walked downstairs, though it appeared as if Ann’s world had just been flipped upside down. They sat down and Justine handed them their food as Ren asked. “So, has Reina explained everything properly?”

Ann nodded as she mumbled. “Y-Yeah it’s just… Hard to believe. I think I’ll need to see it before I believe it. I… Does this steak have drugs in it?”

Justine pouted as she rebuked her. “Of course not! I take pride in my culinary skills.”

Ann nodded, thoroughly chastised. They continued to eat as Ren stood up and said to Morgana. “I’ll be a minute, I need to go and grab some meds for tonight.”

She gave him a thumbs up as she tore into her second steak. Sighing, he grabbed his shoes before walking over to Takemi’s Clinic and walking inside, finding her with her feet up at the desk. Her eyes darted up to him before she set down her magazine, asking. “Not seen you around, here for a checkup?”

Ren nodded, and she motioned him into the examination room. “Alright, head to the exam room and we can get started.”

They walked into the room and Ren sat down in patients chair while Takemi walked over to the desk, sitting down as she asked. “Name?”

Ren decided to cut through the chaff, he needed to keep to schedule. “I need your medicines Plague.”

Takemi dropped the pen that was in her hand before looking over at him sharply. They held their staring contest for a long moment before she sighed and asked quietly, in a deadly voice. “Where did you hear that name?”

Ren explained shortly. He hated doing it to this softie at heart, but he’d apologize to her later. “A medical official that I have some dirt on, namely, a scandal involving a treatment for Crawford-Ende’s?”

Takemi’s eyes widened before she mumbled, leaning back in her chair. “… What do you want?”

Ren sighed, the tension in the room had gotten much higher than he’d wanted. “I’m not here to blackmail you out of money, or expose you here. I just need medicine. If it makes you feel any better, I’m not an addict.”

She blinked before clearing her throat, still rattled from the mention of the disease. “I want to do a physical first, I’m not selling my experimentals to someone who couldn’t survive them.”

Ren nodded, acquiescing to her demand. It only took a few minutes of blood pressure tests and resting heart rate monitoring before she motioned for him to take off his shirt. He did so, and she looked him over with a surprised look before mumbling. “Yeah, no emaciation there… You’ll survive, here’s what I have in stock right now. Also, I want you to come back in a week’s time to make sure you’ve not had a bad reaction. This is good data for me.”

He sighed and put back on his shirt, looking over the list and replying. “I’ll need 20 tablets of high strength Recov-R and four Rejuvenation IVs.”

He nodded and turned to get them for him as he put the required bills on her desk. She passed them back over to him before asking curiously. “Why’d you need this much?”

Ren smiled reassuringly as he gave her a wink, replying cheekily. “Just something for my back.”

She’d probably heard that line from addicts more times than she could count and it seemed to have struck a chord with her considering her small smile. She waved him off as she turned to get back to work, and Ren left with the medical supplies and returned to the house. Seeing that the dining room was empty, he went back up into his room to find the girls digging through his possessions.

He was silently watching them, waiting for them to realise he was standing there before Morgana pulled out a pair of his boxers much to Reina and Ann’s interest. “Ahem.”

Morgana dropped them like they were hot as they all turned to him, caught red handed. “I see you’ve been keeping yourselves busy.”

Reina laughed nervously, unable to come up with an explanation before Ren sighed. He set his supplies into his bag before going into the box they were digging around in and digging out his preferred model gun. “Alright. We’re getting going. Takamaki, is Suzui home yet?”

She nodded, holding her phone to her chest. “Yeah, she texted me a while ago. Her parents are home too, so she should be safe. Let’s do this.”

He nodded before leading them outside and towards the train station, though Ren was surprised when Sojiro stepped outside of Leblanc in his suit. He spotted him before looking at the three girls accompanying him before chuckling, muttering to himself. “Hoo boy…”

The man walked away as Reina asked curiously. “Who was that? Somebody you know Ren?”

He nodded and explained. “He owns that café I was talking about at the rally, it’s a good place. Anyway let’s get going, the train’s arriving soon.”

They got onto the train and went to Aoyama-Itchome, walking over to the alleyway before Ren brought out his phone and nodded to them. Entering the Metaverse, he watched Ann’s reaction carefully only to see that she was taking it surprisingly well.

Reina seemed to have the same idea and asked her curiously. “You…Doing okay Ann?”

She shrugged before sighing, replying as she kept her eyes looked on the castle. “Yeah, I knew it was coming. I’m just processing that it’s all real.”

Ren chuckled and replied. “Well, it should get pretty real when we get inside. Alright, let’s get going. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover tonight. Also… Morgana? You’ve noticed too, right?”

She grinned as she shouted excitedly. “Code names!”

He laughed at her excitement and replied. “Yep! Alright, the reason we have codenames in the palace is because the distortions in the palace can effect you depending on the real person’s perception of you. Remember that fake Takamaki last time? If we called the real her by her name, and the fake Kamoshida hears that and makes the link between her and him…?”

Reina gaped before nodding seriously. “She’ll be influenced like that, that’s a good idea.”

Ann looked curious about that, but didn’t push further. Morgana looked over at Ren before asking curiously. “Do you have a code name already? You probably have the most experience here.”

Ren nodded and turned to them all. “The only others I’ve met on the job called me Joker, let’s stick with that. Morgana… Mona?”

She looked curious at that name as she asked. “Why that name?”

He explained himself as Reina began to ponder her own name with Ann. “Like the Mona Lisa, you like your treasure don’t you? And that’s a pretty big one as far as I’m concerned.”

Morgana giggled and replied, leaning into him. “Oh? Calling me a treasure? Pretty forward of you leader.”

He scoffed and replied. “You wish.”

Reina looked up and said confidently. “I think I should be called… Skull, like my mask.”

He was honestly quite surprised that she’d chosen that name of her own accord. Ann sighed and said non-commitally. “I don’t really know about my own name yet, so just… Call out to me without using my name?”

Ren frowned, that could be dangerous. It was already bad enough that she was going in without a distortion suit. “Fine, but the moment you think of something, we switch to that. Alright, let’s get moving.”

They made their way into the palace and Ren took point with Morgana just behind him while Reina stood immediately behind Ann, always keeping an eye on her. Evidently she had taken her role as her protector to heart. About an hour in, they were sat in a safe room taking a quick break. They were in some sort of library area that was full of high strength shadows, though they still fell easily against Arsene and Josephine.

Ren turned to them as they sat around the table from the door and spoke up. “Everybody, how’re you holding up? What time are we at?”

Reina opened up her phone and looked back up at them. “About 9pm, I’m hold up alright. I’m wondering more about yourself and Mona, you’ve been doing most of the fighting.”

He shrugged and turned to Morgana who was happily examining her haul of loot, her burlap sack filling up way past what would normally be considered ‘capacity volume’. She looked up when she sensed his gaze and shrugged as well. “Not too bad, with those meds we can go much longer than usual. I reckon once we clear this place we’ll be at the final stretch. Let’s get going.”

They exited the safe room and Ren took out two of the patrolling shadows. They investigated the libraries, and Ren took out the books he remembered they’d need. They made their way to the large study area and he allowed them to figure out what to do, no point in him pulling all the weight. Setting the books into their positions, the wall on the opposite side of the room flipped, revealing the dungeon.

Ann and Reina walked in first, their expressions grim as they realised exactly what the dungeon represented as Morgana watched, though Ren could see that her expression was hard. He went over and grabbed the map, keeping as quiet as he could as Reina tried to calm Ann down. “Ann, I know, but remember. You need to try and keep calm-“

She turned to Reina was a furious expression. “How!? How the hell am I supposed to stay calm like this!? He’s thinks of Shiho like this and-“

Suddenly she grasped her head in pain as a group of shadows burst through the door, and Ren and Morgana turned to face them as Reina went to help Ann. “We’ll hold them off, you keep her safe Skull! Jose-!”

Before Morgana could summon her persona, two other figures walked in after them that made her stall. It was… Mishima and Reina, the former dressed as some sort of courtier while the latter was dressed like an exotic slave. “Well well well, it seems as if the thieves are back, hmm?

Ren gaped at the two, he’d remembered Mishima being a slave before but… This was new, and unsettling. Morgana raised her hackles and shouted back. “What the hell do you want!?”

Mishima laughed as he snapped his fingers, causing the cognitive Reina to begin to convulsively dance as the shadows began to advance. Both Ren and Morgana summoned their personas as did Reina, but behind them, Ann was seething in anger. “Hey… This is how he views them, right?”

Josephine, Arsene and Captain Shih began to hold back the shadows as Ren jumped back, coming to a halt next to her. “Yeah. Mishima is his hand, Reina is his slave. And… You’re his concubine.”

Ann gritted her teeth before Ren asked her quietly, though it cut through the sound of battle to her. “Are you going to let them do all the fighting? Reina jumped at the chance for revenge, and Suzui… Shiho endured it all, all for the moment when he would be exposed for what he is. What will you do?”

She suddenly stalled before crying out in pain, flickers of blue light forming at the edges of her face. Ren grinned as he began to enter the fray, helping as the cognitive Reina exploded into a persona he recognised as Kali. He began to take it on, noticing as Ann awakened to Carmen. After a short fight, all of the shadows were gone, and stood between them was the cognitive Mishima quaking in his boots as Ren set his gun between his eyes.

Reina frowned as she asked, crossing her arms. “Do we need to kill him?”

Before she could continue, Ren fired off the shot, killing the cognition without a second thought much to Reina’s discomfort. “He’s Kamoshida’s cognition, not Mishima’s shadow. Not to mention we can’t risk him running back to Kamoshida. You holding up okay?”

He directed that at Ann, who was leaning against one of the chairs as she gathered her breath. She looked up at him with a warm smile and replied. “Y-Yeah, what a rush though. I think I can keep going-“

She was stopped when Ren held up his hand, but Morgana said stiffly. “No way! We’ll take a rest in that safe room, we’re already doing this dangerously. Anyways, it’s a good opportunity to come up with your code name.”

Ann sighed and nodded, following them back to the safe room. Ren watched as Ann took a nap, resting her head against Reina’s lap while the girl in question stroked her hair comfortingly. “I guess you two have history.”

Reina nodded thoughtfully as Morgana sat down next to Ren, mimic Ann much to their amusement. “Yeah, ever since middle school. For the longest time it was just Ann, Shiho and myself, we were all kinda weird. We did everything together, we all went into Shujin together… And then Kamoshida happened.”

They were silent for a while as Reina looked down at Ann sadly, reminiscing. “After my run-in with him where he broke my leg, he blackmailed Ann and Shiho. They abandoned me and started to spread rumours, or else he’d try the same thing. I don’t blame them much but it… It wasn’t great, having your best friends telling everyone you tried to hit the Olympian and you were a whore. The track team was disbanded, I got thrown in the dirt. I had to train just to keep myself safe from the school scum.”

Ren nodded. He knew that it was bad but… She seemed so put out by the ordeal, not hopeful at all. He offered with a confident smile. “Just think, this time tomorrow, he’ll be begging the school for forgiveness.”

The vindictive smile on her face told him that she was still focused. “Yeah, it’ll be great to see this bastard grovelling. Anyways, I was kinda wondering… What’s the criminal record about? I know you must’ve had a good reason but I’m just curious.”

He shrugged, explaining his run in with Shido. After he’d gotten revenge, it had lost a lot of the sting it once had. But considering that Reina and Morgana hadn’t heard it, their horrified expressions filled him with a warm glow. “T-That’s… Horrible! What the hell… That’s such bullshit…”

Morgana gripped onto his coat as she snarled angrily. “I’m… I kinda wanna stab someone.”

He pulled her off of his lap and scoffed. “Save it for Kamoshida. Let’s keep focused, alright people?”

They nodded, though he could tell they were still agitated. A voice spoke up from Reina’s lap, mumbling. “That’s kinda tough, that’s one hell of a history.”

Ren smiled at Ann as she woke up. “That’s what it is, history. Trust me, I plan on getting my own back eventually. But if he suddenly had a change of heart just after convicting me…?”

Morgana ‘ahh’ed in understanding, nodding along. “You’ll be a prime suspect, I see. Well, I’ve got your back when it happens!”

He grinned and nudged her side lightly. “Thanks for that, glad to have you on side. Anyways, has anyone got an idea for her code name?”

Reina looked down at Ann thoughtfully before saying confidently. “Sexy Cat.”

Ann pinched her thigh, and Morgana offered as Reina yelped in pain. “How about… Tabby? Her mask is like a cat after all.”

Ren offered when Ann’s expression seemed unconvinced. “Well, on that vein, how about a big cat?”

Her eyes widened and she said, sitting up with renewed vigour. “That’s perfect! My name will be Panther!”

With that settled, they made their way back outside and continued through the palace. Without Ann needing to be worried about, it freed up both her and Reina to help, speeding up the process greatly. Soon enough and after many fights, Ren peered through the lock hole into Kamoshida’s Throne Room and scoped it out. Many slaves were surrounding him, and according to the map, the treasure was just behind the throne.

Turning back to his team, he said authoritatively. “Alright, just behind the throne is the treasure room. I’ll go and scope it out, shout if there’s an issue.”

Morgana spoke up first, crossing her arms in displeasure. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if it’s trapped? I say we leave, send the calling card and go in guns blazing.”

Ann nodded along as Reina put a hand on Ren’s shoulder, a confident smile on her face. “We’re a team, right? And considering how much you’re doing, I doubt there’s anything that can stop us tomorrow. Not to mention, it’s been a long night and you’re not infallible.”

He was surprised, he’d expected that they’d ask to come along, not call it there. “I… Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go, our infiltration route is secure.”

They made their way out through the cleared pathway, arriving in the real world to the light patter of rain. Ren sighed as he checked his phone, 3am. “Alright, we’d better be getting home. I was hoping that we’d be able to get a train but I doubt they’re running right now.”

Calling Caroline, he heard the woman groggily ask. “Joker? Whassup…?”

He smiled ruefully before asking. “Sorry, we’re just out of Kamoshida’s palace and the trains are running. Can you come pick us up?”

She suddenly sounded much more exited, and he could hear a small crash as she got up. “In the car, right!? I’ll be there before you can say rehabilitation!”

The call went silent and Ren sent out a silent prayer for any other drivers on the road. He turned to Ann, who was apparently on the phone with Shiho. “Takamaki, you want a ride home or somewhere else?”

She blinked before holding the phone against her shoulder, a grateful smile on her lips. “Yeah, mind if I stick with you guys tonight? My mom’s home for the week and I don’t want her talking my ear off.”

Ren smirked and nodded before turning to Reina and Morgana, who were huddling under a ventilator for protection against the rain. “Well girls, we’re ready for tomorrow. Once we’re done with this hurdle, we can rest easy.”

They nodded, and it was only a few minutes until a car screeched to a halt outside the alleyway. Ren walked over as the window rolled down, revealing a hyped up Caroline gripping the wheel to the point where her fingers were white. “Joker! Let’s go, we’ve got rubber to burn!”

He scoffed and opened the door, wincing at how hot the handle was, allowing the girls into the back. Sitting next to Caroline, he closed the door and no sooner were they speeding away down the street. He could barely put his seatbelt on as Caroline asked him curiously. “So how was it? I see the Lover has awakened.”

Ren turned to see Ann looking at them strangely. “We’ve secured the infiltration route and Takamaki’s awoken. I’m planning on going to school at early hours and setting up the calling cards.”

Morgana shouted excitedly. “You gonna break in!? I’m totally in.”

He laughed at her exuberance and agreed. Ann smiled at him exasperatedly as she said. “You know you can just call me Ann, right? I reckon fighting in a palace puts us on first name basis.”

He nodded, a small warmth building in his stomach. It felt nice to be back on this level of familiarity with her. “Yeah, you can call me Ren in turn then. Anyways make sure that you sleep well today, we’ll head in after school and steal the treasure.”

Reina gigged and asked curiously. “So we’re going to stay at your place today?”

Ren nodded and explained, he knew how volatile Kamoshida could be. “It’s the safest there, myself and the twins can fight if Kamoshida comes knocking. Not to mention you can talk openly about the metaverse there.”

She pushed worriedly. “But your probation, won’t the school really mess with you if you skip school again?”

He laughed, nudging Caroline in the side. “Kobayakawa’s got a thing for her, no way he’ll kick me out if it means she stops visiting.”

She scoffed and replied. “Lavenza said she’d cover. We all ate something that was bad since you two were staying at our place for the night with Joker. Food poisoning gives you a cover for the phantom thievery, and skipping school.”

Ann giggled as Reina blushed, asking. “What about Shiho? I don’t like the idea of playing hooky on her record.”

Caroline replied non-chalantly. “Eh, fine. A foursome with him is less believable, but I can make it work.”

Ren gaped at her as did the two girls who were apparently involved. They were silent for a long while before Morgana piped up indignantly. “Hey, what about me?”

Caroline snorted and replied. “He’d get arrested again if we said he added you.”

Morgana huffed as she looked away petulantly. “I’m old enough…”

They were silent for the rest of the car ride, and they coasted into the drive way. Ren stayed downstairs, offering his room to the girls as Caroline got them a change of clothes. He sat in the living room, trying to stay awake as Lavenza walked in with a cup of coffee. “Welcome home big brother.”

He raised his eyebrow as he replied, playing along as he sipped the beverage gratefully. “What’s with you being up so late?”

She giggled, sitting up beside him as she asked teasingly. “Oh? Is big brother going to punish me for being up after bedtime?”

He scoffed, setting the cup down as he began properly. “The calling cards?”

Lavenza pointed to a stack on the table, exact replicas of the one’s Yusuke used to make… Yusuke, he hoped to high heaven that he’d be the same but he knew that it was in vain. “Same wording as your one’s last time, just with a bit more refinement. You and Morgana will be going out to place them, am I correct?”

He blinked, he hadn’t told her that, had he? “Um… Yeah, I suppose so.”

She was still smiling, but Ren could sense a sinister undertone when she said. “I see. Now, make sure to use protection when penetrating-“

He stopped her incredulously. “L-Lavenza! You can’t say stuff like-“

She cut him off innocently, placing a finger against her chin. “Why, I was just cautioning you against foolishness when breaking into the academy.”

He looked at her strangely before taking another sip of coffee, certain he was just hallucinating- “Be careful if you go in from the rear, it can be dirty and it can require some preparation.”

Oh great, now the coffee was on the opposite of the room. He looked at her beseechingly as Lavenza’s eyes smiled coyly. “You’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”

She didn’t confirm or deny that as she patted his thigh comfortingly. “You’ve had a long day, you must just be imagining it. Here, I’ll pour you some more coffee.”

He handed her his cup as Caroline walked in, plopping down next to him with a sigh. “Well that’s them asleep, Morgana’s taking a nap before your break-in.”

Ren nodded, looking over one of the calling cards, ensuring that everything was in order before wiping off the fingerprints. He’s need to grab gloves before they went in, and he needed to ensure he had everything he needed. He’d also need to scope out their entry… Rooftop possibly? Could he get up there anyway?

Lavenza walked back in and handed him a renewed cup which he began to sip happily. A couple of cups later and stretching out his back and slapping his face lightly. “Alright, I’m going to go and take a shower before preparing for the break-in. Could you get Morgana up please?”

Caroline nodded and Ren went to the bathroom, turning on the ornate showerhead before stripping and stepping under the spray. Man… He could get used to having a shower again, the bath house was great and all but the old guys in there really didn’t know how to compromise when it came to temperature. He stepped out, wrapped himself in his towel and got out of the bathroom only to come face to face with a startled Morgana.

Neither of them said anything for a long moment before she broke out in a blush, muttering apologetically. “S-Sorry, thought I’d shower as well before the break in…”

He shrugged with a complacent smile, the old Morgana had seen him in much more compromising situations. “Good idea, I should do the same.”

She looked at him oddly before realising that he was joking, giggling through her grogginess. “Yep, looks like you still have much to learn. Meet you at the front door, yeah?”

He saluted before grabbing his clothes, opting to change in the hallway considering how quiet it was. Opening the door to his room quietly, he saw that Reina and Ann were laid out on his bed snoring loudly and snorted, no way he’d wake them up if they slept like that. Going over to his storage box less stealthily, he grabbed the folding case filled with his infiltration tools and grabbed a hoodie that would cover his head and had no distinctive features.

Walking downstairs, pulling the garment over his body, he arrived to see Lavenza holding two raincoats, one blue and one black. “Hey big brother, what one do you think Morgana would like more?”

Ren shrugged and replied. “The black might be better, blends in with the urban scape more. Is Caroline ready?”

Lavenza nodded, opening the door to reveal Caroline doing an inspection of the car with a strange gleam in her eye. “Say, considering how integral we are to your plans right now, does that make us phantom thieves too?”

He laughed at her expectant look at patted her head placatingly. “Maybe when you’re older, you’re plenty help as attendant as is.”

She stifled a sigh of pleasure, smirking up at Morgana as she walked downstairs. She handed over the raincoat and Morgana pulled it on snug around herself, pulling up the hood. “This’ll work well, thanks.”

Ren looked back at her and thoughtfully mused. “We really should get you some new clothes. Sunday?”

Morgana blinked before smiling brightly up at him. “Y-Yeah! That sounds great!”

He smirked and motioned her out and into the car before he turned to grab the calling cards in the living room. Walking outside, he heard Lavenza call out behind him. “Have fun storming the castle!”

Sighing in exasperation he waved to her before getting into the car next to Morgana, closing the door and pulling out the infiltration tools. Setting them down in his lap, he opened up the case only to see the girl looking at them with sparkles in her eyes. “These are… Perfect! What is that lockpick, it looks so… Shiny…”

He laughed as he explained each one, and by the time they were at Shujin, she was fully clued up on what to use. They stepped out of the car as Caroline said happily. “I’ll be cruising around for a bit, call me when you’re done and I’ll come racing.”

They waved her off as she sped off down the street and Ren pulled up his hood, ensuring that his hair was all tucked away before motioning for Morgana to follow him silently. It was eerily quiet, only being 5 in the morning. He lead her around one of the accessways that took them into the courtyard and motioned for her to pick the lock that lead into the school building. She took the tools and got to work while Ren made light talk with her. “Say, why were you on the streets?”

Morgana’s hand stalled, and the pick clattered to the floor before she sighed and picked it up, beginning lightly. “I’m… Well, orphaned may not be the right word. When I was 9, I woke up in hospital with amnesia. Apparently some stranger had found me with a concussion and a hit in the back of the head. They stitched me up, but when they looked for my parents… Nobody came forward. Eventually I found myself on the streets after some bad foster parents, and I’ve been fending for myself ever since. I can’t really keep too much of a haul from Phantom Thievery cause I don’t have a fence, so money’s always tight. Not going to lie… I was close to starving, that’s why I looked around for a palace instead of just going into Mementos. Fat load of good that did me.”

Ren nodded, biting his tongue to keep himself from spitting a string of explicatives. His parents weren’t great, they had just shipped him off at the earliest convenience, but they’d never… Abandon him, especially not at 9. “Morgana… I-I’m…”

He shook his head, shaking himself out of it. He couldn’t afford to lose composure at this point. “Thanks for telling me. And if it makes a difference, I’m not going anywhere for a long time.”

She smiled up at him warmly, the door clicking as it unlocked. “I’m glad, I like you and the others. You’re… Strong, not just when fighting but you always have this air of confidence. I hope I can try and learn as much as I can from you. Not to mention I won’t mind getting spoiled every so often.”

He laughed as they walked inside. “Alright, I’ll do my best to please. Now then my dear Mona, shall we?”

She giggled and followed him in, replying mockingly. “Of course, noble Joker.”

They arrived at the notice board and Ren saw that there were no camera’s in the hallway and grinned. Plastering up the cards with impunity, they almost managed to cover the entire wall in them before they retreated, finding that the sun was rising and it was getting close to 6am, when the janitor would be arriving to get the school open… “Sorry Mona, I think the janitor’s being overworked. Don’t you think a nap would help him work to the best of his abilities?”

She giggled and replied. “Why, I think you’re onto something. You get the chloroform, I’ll get his attention.”

Ren opened his infiltration kit and pulled out a sleep vial, soaked a rag in it as Morgana waited just behind the corner. The janitor arrived and opened up the door, only to gape at the wall covered in calling cards. Morgana stepped out from behind the corner, her arms raised like a zombie. “Braiinnnnnzzzzzz…”

Ren sighed and jumped out from his hiding point, holding the rag over his face until the struggling stopped. Setting him down on the ground, making sure he was comfortable, he looked up at Morgana who was giggling like a fairy. “Zombie? Really?”

She shrugged and replied. “What was I supposed to do?”

He threw up his hands, offering wildly. “I don’t know, your womanly wiles or something?”

Morgana’s face lit up as she held her arm over her chest unconsciously. “W-Womanly wiles?”

Ren shrugged and muttered. “I don’t know, I’m tired… Come on, I’ll call Caro-“

Suddenly he found himself being hugged around the middle by Morgana. He was surprised, but found himself stroking her hair comfortingly as she nuzzled into his chest. After a minute he asked cautiously. “You… Alright?”

She grinned up at him widely, her sharp canine’s glinting in the early morning sun. “Yep! Thanks for today, it’s been fun… For a first date that is.”

He laughed nervously and let her go, not sure if she was serious or not. ”Um… I’m sure I can do better next time, Fort Knox?”

She hummed before scoffing. “Too easy, let’s go to the space station instead. That’d be a challenge, but between us, I think we’d scrape by.”

Ren smirked and replied, taking her hand and leading her outside. This was… Nice, just two thieves doing what they did best. He had a special connection to Morgana, granted it was because he was designed to have a special connection with him but… This one didn’t, this was all natural. “Yeah, I think we would.”

_I am Thou, Thou art I_

_Thou hast acquired a new Vow_

_It shall become the wings of Rebellion_

_And break thy chains of Captivity_

_With the Rebirth of the Magician Persona_

_Thou hast obtained the wind of blessing_

_And shall lead to freedom and new power._


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another one

_8am_

Students were gathering around the wall plastered in calling cards, mumbling excitedly about the accusations being levelled against their star teacher.

“You hear about the Janitor?”

“Who could have done it?”

“I heard that there were two of them… Reckon they’re students?”

“Mr Kamoshida’s a pedo? Eww…”

Kamoshida was trying to get them to disperse, but few if any were heeding his commands. Already a few of the calling cards had been taken by the students much to the dismay of the teachers. Eventually, after a few shouted threats, the students were dispersed, leaving only a seething Kamoshida, Kobayakawa, Kawakami and a flustered Makoto.

Kobayakawa patted his sweating forehead with a handkerchief as Makoto asked nervously. “S-Sir, w-what is this?”

He turned to her with a sigh of relief. “Ah! Niijima, perfect. I want you to investigate these, Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and find out who they are.”

Kamoshida butted in angrily, a vein popping in his forehead. “It’s the transfer student! He’s obviously the cause of this, he’s trying to slander me!”

Makoto desperately wanted to correct him by saying it was libel, but kept her mouth shut as Kawakami replied. “Nope, he’s sick. Apparently he had a couple friends over and they got food poisoning, something about bad seafood.”

Kamoshida snarled at her as Kobayakawa nodded, muttering along. “The janitor said that they couldn’t see much, but one of them was too small to be a student here. I… Oh I don’t know. Let’s just assume this is some delinquent prank, probably one of those arty types at Kosei.”

They didn’t seem convinced, but Kobayakawa motioned them to go back to class. Makoto tried to focus on her studies, but she found herself touching the calling card that she’d sneaked out in her bag. Phantom Thieves of Hearts… She found herself thinking of the transfer student, and what he said about doing the right thing. Maybe she should follow this closely.

_5pm_

They were stood in the alleyway outside Shujin, their hearts hardened. Morgana crossed her arms as she said to all of them. “Alright people, this is the day. He’s got the calling card, it’s do or die. Any words for us Leader?”

Ren nodded and stood up straight, nodding to Ann and Reina. “You’re the ones who’ve borne the brunt of Kamoshida’s shit, and this is your last chance for revenge so… Enjoy yourselves.”

They smiled ferally as they entered the Metaverse, and they walked into the palace with a swagger so strong it was like music was announcing their arrival. Running through the painting of Kamoshida that took them to the elevator, they made their way up to the throne room and peered inside. Nobody was there, but Ren was sure that they were waiting in the wings.

Running through the room, they arrived at the treasure room and Morgana beamed at the sight of the massive crown floating in the middle of the room. “Treasure…”

Before she could jump at it Ren put his hand on her head, grounding her. “Easy girl. Panther, Skull, help me out here.”

They giggled at the interaction before going over to help Ren push the crown out of the room. They got to the throne room before the crown suddenly flew out of their hands, shrinking as it did, and landed in the hand of none other than Kamoshida.

There was a tense stand off between the two before Ren pulled out his gun and pointed it squarely at him as the fake Ann walked out, much to the real Ann’s horror. “We’ll be taking that now, if you don’t mind.”

Kamoshida grabbed the fake Ann around the waist and pulled her close as he began to grow in size. “I don’t think you understand your place, boy. I own this castle, I am it’s supreme god! I am the king! I am King Kamoshida, and you will obey!”

Suddenly there was a loud explosion, and where the Kamoshida they knew was standing, now stood a massive homunculus of a being with a massive knife and giant glass of wine. Joker jumped back as the knife dove at him, and he called back to the others. “Everyone! Surround him!”

They all made their way around the monster, just out of reach of the knife as Joker began to fire away at his face. Reina began to wail away at him with bolts of electricity as she called out in distress. “What’s the plan!?”

Ren grimaced as he had to run away from a volley of volleyballs sent against him by the animated slaves. “Get his crown of his head! Mona, you handle it! Skull, Panther, keep up the damage!”

The girl in question nodded and ran away behind a pillar as Kamoshida looked over to where Ann was firing a smattering of SMG bullets into his side. Ren summoned Arsene and they began to bring the monsters attention over to him while Morgana continued to clamber into position. It was exhausting, but eventually Kamoshida ran out of balls and he began to scream like a petulant child. “Someone! Bring me a ball!”

From the wings ran a cognitive Shiho in a bunny girl outfit that made Ren’s blood boil. Kamoshida reached out to stroke her cheek as she handed him a volleyball with a doll-like smile. “You are the most obedient of my slaves, looks like I’ll have to give you some special attention tonight.”

Ren didn’t give him any time to let up, firing off a bullet at the cognitive Shiho and hitting her straight between the eyes. “Panther! Finish her off!”

Ann gritted her teeth before running up and slicing the cognition in half with her whip, jumping back as Kamoshida wailed in anguish. Ren could see Morgana was waiting for his signal, and fired his final bullet into the air. The girl jumped out with inhuman grace and grabbed it from the top of his head, the thing shrinking as she did so. It clattered to the ground as Ren shouted, ripping his mask off. “End it!”

They unloaded their attacks of choice into the monster, and as they did so, it screamed in pain as if began to shrink down into the quivering mess that was his shadow. Ren breathed a sigh of relief as he rushed over to where Reina and Ann had collapsed in exhaustion. “Girls, you okay? Here, this should perk you up-“

He was cut off by the sound of Kamoshida rushing over and grabbing his crown. Sighing, he helped them to their feet and watched as Morgana began to threateningly point her cutlass at him. “Give it up, your royally messed up majesty. We win.”

Kamoshida snivelled pathetically as he screamed back. “N-No! I am the king, y-you will obey me!”

Ren shook his head as he helped the others to their feet, apparently having gotten their breath. Reina pointed her shotgun at him as she said menacingly. “This ain’t your castle anymore, you damn monster.”

Ann nodded, stepping up with her whip in hand. “That’s right. For every crime you’ve commited, for everything you’ve done to the volleyball team, for what you did to us… We find you guilty as charged.”

Kamoshida screamed as Ann threw her arm back, but it was caught by Ren as she went to bring the whip down in a killing blow. “Panther, remember, he needs to survive.”

He turned to Kamoshida and said. “Give us the crown. When you go back to the real world, you will admit every crime you’ve committed at the next school assembly.”

Kamoshida gulped before nodding, tentatively handing the crown over to him. Ren sighed before turning to the others. “Alright, let’s move people! This palace is collapsing as we speak!”

They began to run out of the throne room as Kamoshida knelt there, beaten. Just as Ren turned to leave again, he heard Kamoshida mumble in anguish. “I can’t believe I lost again…”

He was shocked by that. Did this Kamoshida… No time to think, he needed to run. They only just made it out of the castle and Ren watched at they all caught their breath while gripping onto the medal in hand, it’s cool metal grooves against his fingers. It was over, they’d actually done it… Felt kind of nostalgic.

Reina was the first to stand up, her gasping for air done as she massaged her aching shins. “So… We did it? For real?”

Ren nodded as Ann cheered. “We did it! That bastard’s going to be sorry he ever messed with us!”

Morgana smirked as she sidled up to Ren, leaning into his side for warmth in the early April noon. “Nothing to do now but wait for that assembly, eh? How about something to celebrate?”

They all looked amoungst each other before Ren sighed and pulled out his wallet. “Where too…?”

The predatory look in their eyes said that they’d be chewing through his funds with abandon, and he could already feel the pain in his wallet. They arrived in Shibuya and Ann lead them towards the Wilton Buffet, where Ren paid their entrance fee and they all got to work demolishing the meal with impunity. “Man, this stuff is amazing! Can’t believe this is an all you can eat.”

Ren watched Reina carefully as she wolfed down a massive steak while Morgana indulged in some fine sushi. He smiled at Ann as she brought over a plate of deserts as she asked curiously. “Are you not getting anything Leader?”

He shrugged and replied, not feeling particularly hungry. “Eh, Justine’s cooking is better. I’ll just grab some coffee.”

She nodded as she sat down opposite him, asking curiously as she took up a long handled spoon. “Say, how do they know about all this… Stuff?”

Ren nodded before standing up, saying with a look in his eye. “That’s their story to tell, and they can’t tell it here if you catch my drift.”

Ann looked around at the other patrons that were looking at them like they stunk up the place and winced, nodding. Ren walked over to the drinks area and poured himself a cup of coffee. When he returned to the table, there was a couple of old ladies tutting while looking down on the group. “I can’t believe they allow vermin like this in, how far this establishment has fallen.”

Reina looked like she was about to throw her knife at them while Ann simmered, but Morgana just seemed to shrink back in her seat. He walked over and put his hand on her shoulder, setting the cup down as he asked imperiously. “Is there a problem here Ma’am? I trust they have not caused you any trouble, no?”

They looked at him with demeaning looks as they replied. “So you are their… Pimp? Do take your business elsewhere boy, it sours the air.”

Ren brought himself up to his full height and replied with a cool gaze, one which seemed to take the warmth out of their bones. “I warn you now, these girls are the daughter of the famous Takamaki Fashion empire and her handmaids, and I am their acting bodyguard. Any further derisions will be treated as insults to the family, and any actions against the Heiress will be considered… Hostile by myself.”

They suddenly seemed cowed and scurried off as Ren took a seat next to Ann, sighing in annoyance as he grabbed his coffee and sipped from it before grimacing at the taste. Ann looked at him in shock before breaking out in a fit of giggles. “M-My, so I guess you’re my bodyguard now? Does that mean I get to order you around?”

He smirked and replied jokingly. “Your wish is my command fair lady. A JFC boneless barrel and a large Bepsi?”

Reina and Morgana snickered as Ann smacked his arm indignantly. “Shut up! I’m more of a de-carbonated girl myself. If you dare bring me something else, I’ll have you sent to the dungeons.”

He looked at her with a quirked eyebrow and replied. “I’m sure they’d be more fun than Kamoshida’s dungeon if you’re the torturer.”

She blushed, the wind thoroughly abandoning her sails as Reina and Morgana broke out into laughs. Eventually they sobered up and Morgana asked. “How’d you know that Ann’s parents were fashion designers?”

Ann herself looked at him beseechingly, wanting an answer. Ren crossed his arms and explained. “Know your friends, know your enemies. It’s good in my business.”

She accepted that answer before she found herself curling her hair around her finger embarrassedly while Reina went to get another steak, accompanying the still shy Morgana. “So… You’ve seen my modelling too?”

He nodded with a smile. “You’re pretty good, with a bit of experience you’ll be top of the charts in no time.”

Ann giggled and nodded. “Thanks! I really hope that one day I can be on the catwalk, it just feels… Right, y’know?”

Ren nodded as he took a sip of the water, wanting the taste of the coffee off his buds as soon as possible. What did they do; put instant powder in elephant dung? “I know you’ll be great.”

She nodded with a warm smile before asking curiously. “What do you want to be in life?”

He found himself taking pause at that. What did he want to be? All he ever knew was being a phantom thief… “I guess I don’t know yet. Politics maybe? Or maybe just keep doing what I’m doing…”

She nodded thoughtfully, her fingers on her chin. “Y’know… I think you’d be a good councillor, or a psychiatrist. You just have this… Way with words, I can’t really describe it. Like you really understand us.”

Ren laughed at the joke only he got and replied, ignoring the headache at the mention of the word councillor. “Yeah, I think that might work.”

Suddenly her smile became slightly mischevious as she tacked on. “Or you can be my bodyguard again when I become a famous model. I could use some muscle like yours in my life.”

He muttered, hiding his embarrassment. “That… Sounds good too.”

She giggled and set her spoon down, looking over at him with him with sincere eyes. “But seriously, you’ve done so much for us… For me. Reina was so angry before, but now she’s even talking about getting into track again. Shiho and I… I don’t think I can exaggerate what you’ve done for us if I tried. So if there is anything I can do for you, just ask.”

He looked at her in surprise before smiling warmly, reaching out his hand. “Let’s make a deal then.”

Ann looked at his hand with a surprised look as Ren began. “I want to know more about you, keep hanging with you and the others. In return I want you to do the same. So do we have a deal?”

She grinned as she took his hand, shaking it with a firm smile. “Well then Leader… It’s a deal.”

_I am thou, thou art I_

_Thou hast rekindled a bond of old._

_It adorns your wings once more_

_And shall break thy chains of captivity again_

_With the rebirth of the Lovers Persona_

_I have obtained the winds of blessing_

_That shall lead to freedom and power lost_

They unclasped hands as Reina and Morgana returned, looking at them strangely before digging into their next round of food. In short order they were stuffed and Ren leaned forward to address them. “Alright, I suppose we need to address the elephant in the room. What do you plan on doing now?”

Reina spoke up first, crossing her arms as she asked curiously. “What do you mean by that?”

Ren nodded, continuing. “What we’ve just done, if you’ve been to one you can go to others. If you wanted… I’m suggesting we keep going. There’re going to be more people like you, with worse adults and more dangerous situations.”

Morgana grinned and nodded, wiping a piece of rice from the side of her face. “Damn straight. If we teamed up, we could take down as many as we wanted.”

Ann spoke next. “I… I agree, if we have the power to do something we should do it. Otherwise it’d make us no better than the principal who did nothing.”

With that they were in agreement, and Morgana turned to Ren with a grin. “Well, I know we’ve been calling you leader but I think it’s time we formalized it. You’re the strongest out of all of us, not to mention the most experienced.”

He shrugged and accepted before Reina asked. “So what do we call ourselves? We’ll need a proper name.”

Ren nodded and offered. “I think we should stick with The Phantom Thieves of Hearts. It keeps it simple, catchy and recognisable.”

They nodded and Morgana spoke to the Reina and Ann with a serious expression. “You’ll be able to get into the Metaverse when you want to now, but I’m going to ask that you don’t go in without myself or Ren. It can be dangerous on your own.”

Ren added to that. “We’ll keep each other up to date on what we’re doing, and we’ll need to give you the rundown on Mementos. But again stay smart, if you really want to change someone’s heart then ask for help. I don’t want you getting hurt if I could have helped.”

They nodded before Ren stood up, stretching out his back languidly. “Alright, that about settles it. Ann, Reina, you two should be getting home. You must be tired after today. I’ll sell the treasure and we can split it when we meet up next.”

They stood up and followed him out of the hotel, arriving at the station where they got on their trains home independently. When they arrived back at the house, they collapsed onto the bed in sync and sighed as the stress from the day wore off. Ren was the first to get up after a solid 5 minutes and went to change, only to find that Morgana was clinging to his shirt in her sleep and smiled.

Laying back down, he faced up at the roof while listening to the girl snore contentedly. That was the first of the palaces down, and they were off to a great start. Maybe he could get used to this timeline…

_Meanwhile, at a construction site in Odiaba_

The weather was overcast and foggy, and the foot traffic was still. The only living being around was a cat with bright blue eyes that watched as a figure emerged from a wall, seemingly made of a black ooze that morphed into the shape of a man.

He wore a doctor’s labcoat, and had a kind veneer. His hair was a mess of brown, and his eyes were a warm chocolate that invited the beholder to divulge their secrets. He looked around for a moment before his eyes settled on the construction site and he smiled in satisfaction. _“This is it, the world he was taken to by that thing.”_

He opened his phone up, looking through it to find the date and he nodded with purpose. _“Kamoshida should be active now, that’s good, I can get myself set up in time. I promise Ren, I’ll bring you home. I won’t let you suffer any longer, you’ve done your part. Now… I need to find her.”_

_Friday_

Ren sat in class, twirling his pen in boredom. He kinda missed Morgana talking to him during class, not to mention he’d already been through all of the material. Kamoshida had taken a leave of absence, just like last time, and Ren fully expected him to confess in the same manner as before.

Class ended, and once the rest of the class had dispersed for lunch Ren sat next to Ann and asked. “How’s Shiho?”

She shrugged and pointed at the door, asking with a smile. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

The girl herself was standing there with a shy smile, and she walked over to join them. She sat down as she began. “H-Hello Amamiya, Ann.”

Ren nodded and asked with purpose, not wanting to leave too much to chance. “Hey yourself. What’s the word in the volleyball club?”

She grinned and replied. “S-Some of the third years have been contacted by Kamoshida, they’re going to be coaching us until Kamoshida returns. But from what Ann tells me…?”

Ren sighed in relief and replied, running his hand through his hair. “He’s out of action, you’ll see at the next assembly.”

Shiho giggled and said before Ann could stop her. “Ann tells me that you were really cool while you did… Whatever it was you did. Thanks for keeping her safe.”

Ann shouted indignantly while Ren laughed. “All in a day’s work. I’d better go and get my lunch, I’ll leave you two to talk.”

The girls exchanged a look before Ann said with a hint of reproach in her voice. “You’re our friend too Ren, you should eat lunch with us.”

He shrugged and replied. “I’d imagine you’d want some girl time with Reina, patch up the relationship y’know?”

Ann sighed and nodded, acquiescing. “That makes sense but what’ll you do? I feel kinda bad.”

Ren pulled out a large, luxurious velvet covered box with a grin. “Justine’s made enough to keep me busy, I doubt I’ll have enough time to talk and eat if I want to finish it.”

They giggled as he left, walking up the stairs and arriving at the roof. Sitting down with a sigh, he opened the bento and smiled at the crude Arsene that had been made out of salmon roe and seaweed. _“How… Quaint.”_

With his other self’s words heeded Ren began to dig into the meal with gusto. It was the equivalent of a three meal course, cooked with the skill of a master but with a homely touch. He really needed to thank her properly at some point, they all went to such lengths for him. Lavenza got better at brewing coffee despite her distaste for it, Caroline was happy to drive him at any time of night and Justine… Well he’d say her curry rivalled Sojiro’s though he’d never say that to the man’s face.

He was shaken from his reverie when the door to the roof clicked open, revealing Makoto Niijima. She looked down at him as he looked up at her, a piece of fried chicken hanging from his lips. She sighed and crossed her arms. “The roof’s off limits right now.”

Ren swallowed the chicken before observing absentmindedly. “Careful, I can nearly see your-“

Thank you, convenient gust of wind, for proving his point. Makoto screamed before kneeling down and covering the afflicted area with her arms, looking away in shame. Ren laughed at the behaviour before joking. “See? Now you’ve sat down with me, you’re an accomplice.”

Makoto glared at him before her stomach flared up, causing a light dusting of pink to adorn her cheeks as Ren sighed. “You’ve not eaten?”

She mumbled something that he couldn’t quite make out, and upon his questioning look, she sighed and replied. “Forgot to make lunch or eat breakfast.”

Ren looked at her in concern, that wasn’t like her at all. “Wanna tell me about it? Come on, sit.”

She gulped, eyeing up his lunch as she did so. “I-I was distracted yesterday thanks to the Phantom Thieves thing, a-and I stayed up late studying to make up for it and I lost track of time. I assure you, it’s nothing that-“

He shook his head, lifting a piece of chicken with his chopsticks and holding it to her lips. Makoto looked at it like it was the holy grail before gulping and turning away, though her nose appeared to be sniffing the air against her will. “I-I-I c-c-couldn’t. Y-You shouldn’t feed me, I’m n-not a kid-“

Ren cut her off with a smile. “Let’s make a deal, shall we? You eat your fill, and I don’t tell the school body that the Niijima prodigy wears Buchimaru-Kun pan-“

Before he could finish the chicken was ripped from the chopsticks as she glared at him with renewed vitriol, chewing it hungrily. Ren laughed as he set the box on her lap, and kept silent as she ate her way through the rest of the meal hungrily. It was a nice affair, reminded him of their study sessions last time.

He opened his phone after looking out into the city for a little bit and saw that lunchtime was about to finish, and he turned to Makoto who had finished the rest of the meal happily. “Say, have you given what I said any thought?”

Makoto nodded, setting the chopsticks down. “I’m… I can’t really say. I know that it was wrong for me to do nothing but… What could I do? I’m weak, I can barely hold the student council together…”

Ren sighed, turning to her. “What do you consider a weakness?”

That seemed to set her off balance. Ren stared her down as she struggled to come up with an answer. “A-A flaw?”

He broke out in a rueful grin as Makoto blushed. “Come on, synonyms are cheating. I’ll tell you, a weakness is an area of your character that is lacking in some way. Try it, name something that you’re bad at?”

Makoto gaped before responding, allowing herself to go along with the ride. “U-Um… I think it’s my social skills. I can barely talk to anyone anymore, I can only order people around and take orders…”

Ren nodded, taking the bento from her lap and setting it back in his bag. “So what are we doing right now?”

She tilted her head before asking curiously. “T-Talking?”

Ren grinned and nudged her in the side. “See? You’re practicing. You’re talking to me, some delinquent kid who saw your underwear and blackmailed you into eating his lunch. What’s to say you won’t have success in a normal conversation?”

Makoto giggled, blushing at the mention of the underwear incident. She seemed to ponder this for a long moment before the bell rung. Ren stood up, helping her up. “Just think about it, okay? Now then, I hope you don’t bring down the holy vengeance of the student council for staying up here at lunch?”

She nodded, smiling at him cutely. “I suppose I can let it slide this once. Though if I find you up here again, I might ask for a tributary lunch again.”

Ren mock-gasped at they walked inside. “Taking _bribes?_ How scandalous.”

She giggled as she replied, the student body looking at them in shock at seeing the cutesy delinquent and student council president talking like friends. “Don’t complain, I’m just choosing the path of least headaches. A-And, thank you for today, I don’t know if I’d have survived the next classes without something to eat.”

Ren smiled as he turned to go to his classroom, mock-saluting as he left. He arrived in class and went to sit behind Ann, who was smiling brightly as she greeted him. “I assume the peace negotiations went well?”

Ann nodded and replied with a grin. “We decided to go shopping after school tomorrow, girls only.”

Ren grinned back, glad to hear that they were in high spirits. “I’ll get that medal sold tomorrow and get you two your cuts.”

She asked curiously. “On the subject of cash, you seem to be pretty loaded?”

He put a finger to his lips and replied cheekily, remembering the insane amount of cash he’d received for killing Yaldabaoth. “A gentleman never tells.”

She smirked as class began, and after an _invigorating_ lesson about the anatomy of crabs they were released. Ren walked to the station and got on the train to Shibuya, arriving and turning to go to Untouchable. He needed to sell that medal, and he’d like to see Iwai again. It was only just as he opened the door and walked inside, seeing the girl at the counter, did he remember that his current life had a strange idea of what made sense.

She looked up at him with a sharp look that made him feel uneasy, even if he knew that it was just Iwai under there. Walking up to the counter, he said confidently. “I have something to sell that needs someone with your… Skillset.”

The girl looked at him sharply, and Ren began to feel beads of sweat on the back of his neck before she sighed and called into the back of the store. “Dad!”

From the back walked the Iwai as Ren knew him and he nearly cried tears of joy. He couldn’t handle Iwai of all people being turned fem… Oh god what if Sojiro had been- Nope, stop that. “Whaddaya want kid?”

Ren pulled out the Olympic medal from his bag and tossed it over to him. “Genuine Olympic gold.”

Iwai’s eyes widened before they narrowed in on the small, almost impercievable serial number on the bottom inner rim. “I’m… Going to check this. Stay here kid.”

He went into the back with the medal and Ren was left in a rather awkward situation with the girl who was looking at him with a new interest. “How’d you get an Olympic gold? Don’t look the type.”

Ren stuck his hands in his pockets, looking around at the range of guns available. He kind of wanted to buy something out of habit, Unstoppable always had something that caught his eye. “This one was a paedophile that I got dirt on, convinced him into giving it up for my silence.”

Her face strained before she caught the smirk on his face and responded with her own. “And I’m assume you’ll forget that little caveat soon enough?”

Ren laughed and replied. “Oh I don’t know, might slip the mind soon enough. My tongue has a mind of it’s own.”

She giggled and said, sitting forward in her seat. “Name’s Korra Munehisa, that grumpy old fuck’s daughter. Anything I can get you while he tries to keep up with technology?”

Ren scoffed as Iwai walked back, looking between the two strangely. “It’s legit, I’m surprised. I have a buyer, 200,000 Yen.”

Korra was surprised when Ren nodded without further bargaining. “W-What? Don’t golds get like, a hundred million?”

Iwai turned to her as if to chide her before Ren explained. “Fenced goods are dangerous for everyone involved not mention the fence fee. Granted I could probably get another zero but with any luck…?”

The man looked at him with a knowing nod. “Yeah, I can handle your other stuff. You have a fence kid, just don’t bring the police to my door. The name’s Iwai Munehisa.”

Ren nodded and replied. “You’re just my favourite airsoft shop, nothing more. Ren Amamiya. Anyways, do you have any knives in store? I should leave with something in hand, sell the bit.”

Korra grinned and stood up, grabbing a case from under the counter and setting it on the desk for him. It was only then that he was the small spiderweb tattoo on her wrist and whistled to himself. Assuming this was Kaoru, the kid had grown up something fierce this time. “Here’re my favourites, genuine Japanese steel. If you’re taking out scum, I don’t mind showing you the good stuff.”

He looked over the knives for a second before settling on a sleek butterfly knife. Korra whistled and picked it up, running her finger over the edge with a smile. “This’ a good one, you’ve got a good eye.”

She rang it up at 6,000 Yen and Ren handed it over as Iwai prepared the payment for the medal. “I like to think I’ve got a bit of experience.”

Her eyes grew mischievous at the innuendo and she hummed curiously. “Oh? I’d _love_ to see your skills at some point y’know.”

Before Ren could flirt back, Iwai had slammed a wad of notes in front of him, a fierce look in his eye. “Take your cash and your damn knife and go.”

Korra began shouting at Iwai as Ren took the money and turned to leave, not wanting to get between them in… Whatever that was. As he stepped out of the shop, setting the cash in his bag, he heard the door behind him open again to reveal a fuming Korra. She stormed over to him and demanded. “Hey, Amamiya, give me your phone for a sec.”

He blinked before doing so, and she went through it for a second before handing it back to him with a smirk. “There, you’ve got my number and I’ve sent yours to mine. Call me if you want a good time, it’ll piss off my dad, so win-win right?”

Ren frowned internally, that didn’t sound good. “I mean, sure. I’ll see you around Munehisa.”

He walked away as she stood outside the shop, waving him off. Ren went to the station and walked into Leblanc, intent on taking a moment to himself. Sojiro greeted him with a smile as he stood to attention. “What can I get you?”

Ren sat and mused for a second before replying. “Latte if you would, I’m feeling indulgent.”

Sojiro nodded and said musingly. “Say, whenever Akechi comes in, she only orders latte’s when she’s stressed. Can I assume the same is true for you?”

He sighed and nodded, allowing his shoulders to droop. He was tired, he just wanted some coffee before going home and preferably falling asleep. Sojiro nodded sympathetically as he poured the milk to steam, before his phone went off. He walked into the kitchen to answer it, and Ren wondered who he could be talking to before he walked back with a troubled expression. “Sorry kid, I’ve been called out. I’ll be a few minutes, sorry, I can’t really ignore this…”

Ren shrugged and replied, grabbing his bag. “I’ll be happy to wait outside, it’s no problem for me.”

Sojiro shook his head and pointed over to the espresso machine. “I was going to say that you can just finish your drink off yourself, I get the impression you know your way around a café. I count everything before I leave so don’t bother trying to steal anything, ‘cause I have the ear of the detective princess and she’ll have your ass in a heartbeat.”

Ren laughed at the threat and mock saluted, walking around the coutner as Sojiro went to leave. “Consider me suitably threatened. Good luck, I’ll hold down the fort for you.”

The barista nodded and left, leaving Ren with nothing but the sounds of the café. He sighed in delight, beginning to steam his milk with expert skill. As he combined the espresso and milk, the bell tinkled again to reveal not Sojiro, but Sae Niijima who narrowed her eyes. “I’ve not seen you here before. Where’s Sakura?”

Ren nodded, hardening himself. He couldn’t be caught on the backfoot with her. “Boss’ out dealing with something, seemed pretty worried. Trusted me to hold down the shop, the name’s Ren Amamiya. He said he’ll be back in a few minutes, want anything?”

Sae blinked in surprise before looking down at the cup in his hands. “I suppose a latte will do, if you don’t mind.”

Now while he could have made another for himself and handed this one to her… That just grated on his pride. Setting the cup down he went about selecting the perfect beans, grinding them to a fine powder, pulling a luxurious espresso before steaming the fresh whole milk with such expertise that it would incite wars between café chains over who got him. Combining the two and topping it with a milk foam tree, he set it in front of her with a flare. “Enjoy.”

She brought the cup to her lips as the door opened, revealing Sojiro who looked at him strangely. “What are you doing?”

Ren smirked as Sae smacked her lips and set the cup down, hey eyes seemingly sparkling as she savoured the taste. “This… Why, this rivals Sakura’s latte! I must say, I’m impressed. I can see why he hired you.”

Ren laughed at Sojiro’s expression as he asked rhetorically. “Who said anything about hired?”

Sae looked at him like he was insane before laughing, taking another sip as Ren drank from his. “That’s bold of you.”

He rubbed the back of his head as Sojiro finally caught up, chuckling while getting behind the bar next to Ren. “If you can get this one to complement your drink like that, I’m impressed. Been practicing for your date?”

Ren laughed, leaning against the sink as he sipped his drink. This was pleasant, these two were the same as he remembered them, like they were his final vestige of his old life. “A man’s gotta keep ahead of the competition, you’ll be left behind Boss.”

Sojiro chuckled and replied musingly. “Right you are. Actually, you’re in Yongen-Jaya a lot right?”

Ren replied that he was staying there, and Sojiro offered him with a slightly desperate expression. “Well, if you’re not busy, I could do with some cover sometimes. I think what just happened could happen some more. I can pay you a little but-“

Ren cut him off with a serious expression. “Oh no, you’re not paying me a thing. Just let me brew a cup each time and we’ll call it quits.”

Sojiro blinked before sighing in relief. “You’re a lifesaver kid, seriously. I’ll get your number before you leave.”

During this exchange Sae was looking at them critically, assessing the situation. “Sakura, this absence was to attend to her, was it?”

Sojiro turned to her in surprise, apparently having forgotten that she was there. “ _Sigh_ , yeah. The power went out.”

Sae sipped her drink before asking seriously. “I want to meet her. That’s the only way I can confirm anything. Is there a way…?”

Sojiro gritted his teeth, taking a sideways glance at Ren. Evidently he didn’t want him hearing this, but Sae had him pinned. “I… If she wants to, I can’t promise anything though. She’ll be intimidated though, she can barely speak to me.”

The prosecutor hummed before looking over to Ren with an interested look. “Say, how about he joins us?”

Sojiro looked over at Ren before beginning to shout. “What are you talking about!? Adding more people would be torture for her!”

Sae hit him with a steely gaze before explaining measuredly. “I’d argue otherwise. If she had someone her age on her side, it could make this feel safer for her. I hate to impose Amamiya, but would you agree?”

Ren nodded and began. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’d be happy to help Boss out. It sounds like this person has social anxiety, maybe we should make it easy for her to escape somewhere if it gets too much?”

They looked at him in surprise before Sojiro sighed in defeat and said. “We… Should do it at my place then, her room is her safe place. When do you want to do this?”

Sae nodded, finishing off her latte before setting down the payment on the counter. “I think we should do this as soon as possible. Tomorrow?”

Ren and Sojiro shared a look before the barista smirked. “Well, I suppose if you’re here at around 5pm we’ll all be present.”

She didn’t question the message between them as she stood up, grabbing her bag. “Well, it has been a pleasure. Thank you for your co-operation, both of you.”

As she walked out, Sojiro rounded on him with narrowed eyes. “Listen, I need you to be on your best behaviour, alright? This girl… Is flighty, she’s terrified of leaving her room at the best of times.”

Ren nodded and replied, setting down his own payment on the counter. He didn’t like lying to Sojiro, but it would alleviate his worries a bit. Not to mention he wasn’t exactly lying, Futaba was nothing less than family. “I’ve dealt with people like that, my little sister had some measure of social anxiety.”

Sojiro sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Well, that’s reassuring… Alright, you’d best get home. Remember, dress well for tomorrow. Damn Niijima…”

He smirked and nodded, leaving the café into the cool spring air. Returning home, he found himself faced with a silent house. Cleaning out his bento in the sink, he set it on the drying rack before going upstairs and sitting on his bed. It was as he got himself ready to sleep, he felt a vibration from his pocket and turned it on. A notification from… The Meta-Nav? That was new.

Opening the app, he came face to face to face with the uninviting U.I and stared at the history of palaces he’d entered. Sure enough, he had all of the one’s from before. Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, Sakura, Okumura, Sae and Shido but… Something was off. There were distortions between each of them, like glitches or artefacting. Tapping on one of them, he was shocked when it expanded, revealing a name surrounded by question marks.

_Korra Munehisa_


End file.
